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Grace  E.Barnard 


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A 


Xl  s-f  IM^'- 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/childproblemsOOmangrich 


THE   CITIZEN'S   LIBRARY 

OF 

ECONOMICS,   POLITICS,   AND 
SOCIOLOGY 

EDITED  BY 

RICHARD   T.   ELY,   Ph.D.,  LL.D. 

PROFESSOR   OF  POLITICAL  ECONOMY,  UNIVERSITY 
OF  WISCONSIN 


CHILD   PROBLEMS 


SOCIAL  SCIENCE  TEXT  BOOKS 


OUTLINES  OF  ECONOMICS 

By  Richard  T.  Ely,  Ph.D.,  LL.D.  Revised  and 
enlarged  by  the  Author  and  Thomas  S.  Adams, 
Ph.D.,  Max  0.  Lorenz,  Ph.D.,  Allyn  A. 
Young,  Ph.D. 

HISTORY  OF  ECONOMIC  THOUGHT 
By  Lewis  T.  Haney. 

BUSINESS  ORGANIZATION  AND  COMBINATION 
By  Lewis  T.  Haney. 

PROBLEMS  OF  CHILD  WELFARE 
By  George  B.  Mangold,  Ph.D. 


M      THE    CITIZFrmS  :IjI:B.n'AMJ:  , 

CHILD    PROBLEmF 


BY 

GEORGE   B.   MANGOLD,   Ph.D. 

ASSOCIATE   DIRECTOR   SAINT   LOUIS   SCHOOL   OF    SOCIAL 
ECONOMY 


THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 
1914 


All  rights  reserved 


■1^ 


Copyright,  1910, 
By  the  MACMILLAN  COMPANY. 

Set  up  and  electrotypcd.    Published  October,  igio.    Reprinted 
January,  1913;  June,  1914. 


tCUCATlON  DEPt- 


J.  S.  Cashing  Co.  —  Berwick  &  Smith  Co, 
Norwood,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


PREFACE 

The  chief  purpose  of  this  book  is  to  give  its  readers 
a  general  view  of  the  principal  social  child  problems  of 
to-day.  These  problems  are  rapidly  becoming  prominent 
in  the  public  mind,  and  therefore  some  book  which  contains 
a  survey  of  the  principles  and  facts  relating  to  this  series 
of  questions  should  be  distinctly  serviceable.  The  author 
hopes  that  this  book  will,  at  least  in  a  measure,  meet  this 
need.  An  effort  has  been  made  to  adapt  it  to  the  use  of 
the  student  engaged  in  college  or  university  work,  and  also 
to  the  general  reader  who  wishes  to  cultivate  this  impor- 
tant field  of  social  endeavor. 

The  author  takes  great  pleasure  in  acknowledging  his 
indebtedness  to  Professor  Eichard  T.  Ely  for  his  careful 
reading  of  the  manuscript  and  for  his  many  valuable  sug- 
gestions, both  as  to  form  and  subject-matter.  Thanks  are 
also  due  to  Mr.  E.  A.  Hall  of  Chicago,  for  his  helpful  criti- 
cisms of  a  portion  of  the  manuscript.  Finally,  the  author 
wishes  to  recognize  the  services  of  his  wife,  especially  in 
her  collection  and  formulation  of  the  material  in  the  chapter 

on  "  The  Education  of  Backward  Children." 

G.  B.  M. 
St.  Louis. 


567743 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

PAttX 

Introduction        .                1 

1.  Child  Problems  and  Heredity 1 

2.  Child  Problems  and  Environment 2 

3.  Social  Obligations  to  Childhood 5 

a.   The  Preservation  of  Life 5 

h.    The  Preservation  of  Health 7 

c.  The  Right  to  Play 8 

d.  The  Right  to  Freedom  from  Work  ....  9 

e.  The  Right  to  Education 10 


BOOK  I.     INFANT  AND  CHILD  MORTALITY 
CHAPTER  I 


Infant  and  Child  Mortality.     Historic ai* 

1.  Introductory 

2.  Decline  in  the  Death  Rates  of  Children 

3.  Historical  Stages       .... 

a.   First  Period      .... 

6.    Second  Period.     Stationary 

c.    Third  Period.    Preventive  Methods 

CHAPTER  II 


15 
15 
16 
18 
18 
19 
20 


General  Aspects  of  the  Problem 22 

1.  The  Waste  of  Life 22 

2.  Economic  Cost  of  Child  Mortality 24 

3.  Physiological  Cost 26 

4.  Social  Costs 29 

6.  The  Decline  in  Birth  Rates 30 

6.  Physical  Degeneracy 32 

CHAPTER  III 

Mortality  Rates  in  the  United  States         «...  36 

1.   Rural  vs.  Urban  Mortality 36 


Viil  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


2.  Negro  vs.  White  Death  Kates 38 

8.  Differences  among  Cities 40 

4.  Differences  based  upon  Social  and  Industrial  Conditions .  41 

5.  Reasonable  Rates  of  Mortality 43 

6.  General  Rates  in  the  United  States 44 

7.  Estimate  of  Preventable  Deaths 46 


CHAPTER  rV 

Children's  Diseases 

1.  Specific  Diseases       .... 

a.  Diphtheria        .... 

b.  Measles  and  Scarlet  Fever 

c.  Whooping  Cough  and  Bronchitis 

d.  Diseases  of  the  Digestive  System 
c.  Prematurity     .... 
/.  Convulsions  and  Meningitis 

2.  Proportionate  Mortality  from  Principal  Diseases 

CHAPTER  V 


49 
49 
50 
62 
64 
64 
57 
67 
68 


Ultimate  Causes  of  Infant  Mortality  ....  60 

1.  Principal  Causes 60 

2.  Classification  of  Causes 61 

3.  Use  of  Artificial  Foods 62 

4.  Heat  and  Neglect  as  Contributory  Causes         ...  65 

5.  Bad  Housing  Conditions 66 

CHAPTER  VI 

The  Milk  Problem 67 

1.  The  Milk  Factor 67 

2.  Requisites  of  Good  Milk 68 

3.  Pasteurization  vs.  Sterilization 70 

4.  The  Experience  of  Rochester,  New  York  ....  72 

5.  Milk  Depots  in  Other  Cities 75 

6.  Clinics  for  Babies 76 

7.  Dairy  Inspection 77 

8.  Summary 78 

CHAPTER  VII 

Supplementary  Methods  op  Decreasing  Mortality     .        .  80 

1.  Avoidance  of  Artificial  Foods 80 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS  ix 

PAGB 

2.  Parental  Education 81 

3.  The  Visiting  Nurse 83 

4.  The  Day  Nursery 84 

5.  Education  of  Girls 85 

6.  Training  of  Boys 86 

7.  Municipal  Campaigns  against  Infant  Mortality        .        .  87 

8.  Prevention  of  Overcrowding 88 

9.  Prevention  of  Employment  of  Married  Women        .        ,  89 

10.  Suppression  of  Other  Causes  of  Mortality        ...  90 

11.  Summary 91 


BOOK   II.    RECENT  ASPECTS  OF   EDUCATIONAL 
REFORM 

CHAPTER  I 

Plat 96 

1.  Introduction 95 

2.  Physical  Effects  of  Play 95 

3.  Play  and  Tuberculosis 96 

4.  The  Social  Values  of  Play 97 

6.   Mental  Value  of  Play 100 

6.   Recent  Appreciation  of  Play 101 

CHAPTER  n 

The  Playground  Movement      . 103 

1.  The  Play  Problem 103 

2.  Origin  of  the  Movement 105 

3.  Types  of  Playgrounds 106 

4.  The  Civic  Centers  of  Chicago 109 

5.  Progress  of  the  Playground  Movement     .        .        .        .111 

6.  Method  of  Administration        ......  113 

CHAPTER  m 

The  Medical  Inspection  of  Schools 117 

1.  Theory  of  Inspection 117 

2.  Nature  of  Inspection 119 

3.  Organization  of  School  Inspection 120 

4.  The  Medical  Inspector 122 


X  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

PAGB 

5.  The  School  Nurse     " 123 

6.  The  Teacher 125 

7.  The  School  Child 126 

8.  Legal  Provision  for  Medical  Lispection    ,        .        .        ,  126 

CHAPTER  IV 

The  Education  of  Backward  Children         ....  128 

1.  Introduction 128 

2.  Number  of  Backward  Children 129 

3.  Causes  of  Mental  Dullness 130 

4.  Origin  and  Results  of  the  Work  Abroad  ....  132 

5.  Work  in  the  United  States 133 

6.  Needs  of  Backward  Children 136 

7.  Organization  of  Special  Classes 137 

CHAPTER  V 

The  New  Education 140 

1.  Literary  Education 140 

2.  Illiteracy 140 

3.  The  Adaptation  of  Education 142 

4.  Present  Limitations  of  Education 143 

6.   Compulsory  Education 144 

6.  Untrained  Children  in  Industry 146 

7.  Industrial  Training 147 

a.   Public  Instruction .  149 

h.  Private  Trade  Training 163 

8.  Instruction  in  Sex  Physiology 164 


BOOK  IIL     CHILD  LABOR 
CHAPTER  I 

Causes  of  Child  Labor 159 

1.  Avarice  of  Parents 159 

2.  Desire  of  the  Child  to  Work 161 

3.  Greed  of  Employers 162 

4.  Modern  Industrial  Conditions 166 

6.   Indifference  of  the  Public 167 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS  xi 
CHAPTER  II 

PAGE 

Conditions  of  Child  Labor 170 

1.  Occupational  Distribution 170 

2.  Territorial  Distribution 175 

3.  Age  and  Literacy 176 

4.  Night  Work  of  Children 178 

6.   Overtime .180 

6.   Homework 180 

CHAPTER  in 

Physiological  Aspects  of  Child  Labor          ....  182 

1.  Importance  of  Physical  Development       ....  182 

2.  Present  Physical  Requirements 183 

3.  Effect  of  Premature  Employment 184 

4.  Incidental  Results  of  Child  Labor 184 

6.   Unhealthful  Occupations 185 

6.  Effect  of  Night  Work 188 

7.  R^sumd 189 

CHAPTER  IV 

General  Effects  of  Child  Labor 191 

1.  Introduction 191 

2.  Economic  Cost  of  Child  Labor 192 

3.  Social  Costs 196 

4.  Moral  Effects 196 

CHAPTER  V 

Child  Labor  Legislation 201 

1.  Evolution  of  Legislation 201 

2.  Agencies  Supporting  Legislation 201 

3.  Uniformity  of  Laws 203 

4.  A  Model  Law    . 204 

5.  Hours  of  Labor 205 

6.  Night  Work 206 

7.  Age  Limits 207 

8.  Working  Papers 208 

9.  Educational  Requirements        .        .        .        .        .        .  209 

10.  Dangerous  Trades 211 

11.  Industries  Exempted 212 

12.  Enforcement  of  Law 214 


xii  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

BOOK  IV.    THE  DELINQUENT  CHILD 
CHAPTER  I 

PAGE 

Causes  and  Nature  op  Juvenile  Delinquency     .        .        .  221 

1.  Development  of  the  Juvenile  Delinquent .        .        .        .221 

2.  Moral*  Classification  of  Children 223 

3.  Causes  of  Juvenile  Delinquency 225 

a.  Home  Conditions 225 

b.  Environment  and  Associations         ....  229 

c.  Criminal  Tendencies        ......  230 

d.  Street  Trades 232 

4.  Nature  of  Juvehile  Offenses 232 

CHAPTER  II 

The  Juvenile  Court 235 

1.  Origin  of  the  Court 235 

2.  Organization 236 

3.  Court  Hearings 237 

4.  Disposition  of  Offenders 240 

6.   Qualifications  of  the  Juvenile  Court  Judge       .        .        .  241 

6.  Evolution  of  the  Juvenile  Court 243 

CHAPTER  m 

The  Probation  System 245 

1.  Origin  of  the  System         .......  245 

2.  Extent  of  the  System 245 

3.  Probation  Officers  and  their  Duties  .        .        .        .        .  246 

a.   Investigating  Officials 247 

6.   Parole  Officers 248 

c.  Unpaid  Officials 249 

d.  Volunteer  Probation  Officers 251 

c.    The  Judge  as  Probation  Officer        ....  253 

4.  Qualities  of  Probation  Officers 254 

5.  Probation  Districts 254 

6.  Length  of  Probation 255 

7.  Number  of  Cases  per  Official 256 

8.  Results  of  Probation 257 

9.  Essentials  of  a  Successful  Probation  System    .        .        .  259 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS  xiii 


CHAPTER  IV 

PAGE 

Reformatory  Institutions 260 

1.  Evolution  of  Institutional  Treatment        ....  260 

2.  Present  Functions  of  Institutions 262 

3.  Types  of  Institutions 263 

a.   Detention  Homes 263 

h.  Parental  or  Truant  Schools 264 

c.    Training  Schools,  Industrial  Schools,  and  Houses 

of  Refuge 265 

4.  Separation  of  Sexes 266 

5.  The  Cottage  System 267 

6.  Physical  Training 268 

7.  Industrial  and  Literary  Training 269 

8.  Discipline 271 

9.  Number  of  Delinquents  in  Institutions     ....  271 

10.  Term  of  Commitment 273 

11.  Essentials  of  Reformatory  Institutions     ....  274 


CHAPTER  V 

The  Prevention  op  Juvenile  Delinquency    ....  275 

1.  Investigation  of  Causes 275 

2.  Improved  Methods  of  Legal  Control         ....  276 

3.  Juvenile  Improvement  Associations          ....  276 

4.  Boys'  Clubs 277 

6.   Parks  and  Playgrounds 280 

6.  Amusements 281 

7.  Contributory  Delinquency  Laws 283 

8.  Socialization  of  the  Public  School 285 

9.  Compulsory  School  Attendance  and  Prevention  of  Tru- 

ancy        286 

10.  Vocational  Training 287 

11.  Prohibition  of  the  Street  Trades  and  Other  Measures  of 

Child  Protection 288 

12.  Education  of  Parents 289 


Xiv  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

BOOK  V.     THE  DEPENDENT  AND  NEGLECTED 
CHILD 

CHAPTER  I 

PAOK 

The  Dependent  and  Neglected  Child 293 

1.  The  Importance  of  the  Home 293 

2.  Types  of  Dependents 294 

3.  Causes  of  Dependency 297 

4.  Number  of  Dependent  Children 300 

CHAPTER  II 

Principles  of  Child  Saving 303 

1.  Placing  out  vs.  the  Institution 803 

2.  Principles  of  Child  Saving 304 

3.  The  Foster  Home 306 

4.  The  Cottage  Plan 306 

6.   State  Supervision  and  Incorporation  of  Private  Agencies  307 

6.  Cooperation 308 

7.  Children  in  Almshouses 310 

8.  Defective  Children 310 

CHAPTER  m 

Methods  of  Child  Saving.     Private 312 

1.  The  Children's  Aid  Society 312 

2.  Guiding  Principles 313 

3.  Work  of  the  New  York  Society 314 

4.  Placing  Out 315 

6.   Difficulties  of  Placing  Out 319 

6.  The  Temporary  Home 320 

7.  Results  of  the  Placing-out  System 320 

8.  Adoption .321 

9.  Dangers  of  Incompetent  Management      ....  322 
10.   Needs  and  Reforms 322 

CHAPTER   IV 

Methods  of  Child  Saving.     Private  (continued)    .        .        .  324 

1.    Societies  for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Children  .         .  324 

a.  Functions  of  Societies 325 


TABLE   OF  CONTENTS  XV 

PAGE 

h.   Work  of  Typical  Societies 328 

2.  The  Institution 330 

a.   Disadvantages  of  the  Institution      ....  330 

6.    Advantages 332 

3.  Foundling  Asylums 333 

4.  Conclusion 334 

CHAPTER  V 

Child-sating  Agencies.     Public 335 

1.  The  State  School  System 335 

a.  Essential  Elements  of  the  State  School  System        .  336 

6.   Placing  Out 338 

c.    Results  of  System 338 

2.  Boarding  and  Placing-out  Systems 339 

a.  Child  Saving  in  New  Jersey 339 

b.  Methods  in  the  District  of  Columbia        .        .        .  340 

c.  The  Massachusetts  Board  of  Charity        .        .        .  340 

3.  The  County  Home  System 342 

4.  Public  Subsidy  System 342 

5.  Public  Care  of  Cruelty  Cases 343 

6.  The  Future  of  State  Systems 344 

Conclusion 349 

Appendix 355 

Bibliography 364 

Index 375 


p-^//^ 


9d. 


CHILD    PROBLEMS 


INTRODUCTION 

Society  is  slowly  beginning  to  realize  that  Child  Prob- 
lems  are  the  greatest  problems  of  our  time.  This  growing 
"ooliyi3iuusne5»s  iy  R  direct  outgrowth  of  the  increasing fore- 
sightedness  of  philanthropic  workers  and  their  continuous 
agitation  in  favor  of  preventive  methods  of  social  better- 
ment.  The  superiority  ot  the  ''ounce  oFprevention "  has 
long  since  been  admitted,  but  the  practical  apphcationof  the 
principle  has  been  inexcusably  retarded.  In  recent  years 
only  have  our  sociological  students  emphasized  the  supreme 
importance  of  building  our  social  structure  on  the  child. 
"The  child  is  father  to  the  man"  has  become  the  motto  of 
intelligent  social  work.  It  is  slowly  dawning  upon  the 
discerning  philanthropist  that  the  child  is  a  bundle  of 
misnpllfl.TiPniis  potpntifl.lities  and  is  portentous  of  good  or 
evil  almost  exactly  in  proportion  to  the  training  and  op- 
portunities which  he  receives  during  the  plastic  period  of 
his  childhood.  Therefore  the  greater  need  of  enthusiastic 
effort  to  mold  the  child  into  the  symmetrically  developed 
adult.  If  society  would  concentrate  more  of  its  now  dis- 
sipated energies  upon  the  problems  of  the  child,  it  could 
with  an  equal  expenditure  of  effort  accomplish  more  good 
than  can  be  reaHzed  from  any  other  form  of  philanthropic 
endeavor.  The  problems  themselves  are,  however,  most 
varied  and  their  solution  must  be  the  result  of  the  most 
painstaking  effort. 

BT- '  1 


'*  yt  ^.* 

2  ' ' '  !^  I  m7\B0BUCTI0N 

1.  Child  Problems  and  Heredity. 

The  task  of  relating  the  problems  of  childhood  to  hered- 
ity depends  upon  the  work  of  biologists  whose  investiga- 
tions are  continually  adding  to  our  knowledge  of  the  subject. 
This  knowledge  will  throw  light  on  the  degree  of  training 
of  which  children  are  susceptible.  Certain  facts  have 
been  so  definitely  established  that  the  sociologist  can  use 
them  as  fundamental  propositions  upon  which  to  build  his 
system  of  preventive  work.  In  many  cases  the  child  is 
already  doomed  at  birth,  and  no  subsequent  training  can 
give  to  him  a  normal  social  life.  Defective  heredity  is 
annually  responsible  for  a  large  number  of  children  who 
are  condemned  to  lifelong  handicaps,  such  as  idiocy, 
imbecility,  backwardness,  deaf-mutism,  blindness,  pre- 
disposition to  criminality,  or  certain  forms  of  constitutional 
disease.  As  a  result  of  such  heredity  these  defects  may 
be  expected  to  reappear  in  the  offspring  of  each  subsequent 
generation.  The  problem  of  the  defective  child,  however, 
occupies  a  separate  field  and  is  necessarily  excluded  from 
discussion  in  this  book.  We  can  only  allude  to  the  guiding 
principle  that  the  child  be  well  born ;  that  is,  that  he  be 
endowed  at  birth  with  capacity  for  development  into  a 
perfectly  normal  individual.  The  accomphshment  of  this 
result  requires  good  parentage  and  depends  upon  work 
among  adults  rather  than  among  children. 

2.  Child  Problems  and  Environment. 

It  is  now  clear  that  the  development  of  the  child  is 
largely  determined  by  his  environmental  conditions,  both 
prenatal  and  postnatal.  In  the  study  of  the  influence 
of  environment  the  opinion  of  the  expert  sociologist  should 
carry  weight,  and  his  investigations  are  establishing  certain 
conclusions  upon  which  definite  rules  of  action  can  now 
be  based.     The  knowledge  that  a  bad  environment  is 


INTRODUCTION  8 

responsible  for  the  seriousness  of  many  of  our  child  prob- 
lems paves  the  way  for  a  more  comprehensive  and  feasible 
treatment  of  the  subject  than  could  be  given  if  bad  hered- 
ity were  the  root  of  the  difficulties.  Much  has  already 
been  accomplished  by  carrying  into  effect  the  suggestions 
of  sociologists  holding  this  point  of  view.  Furthermore,  pre- 
natal causes  of  defects  in  children  must  increasingly  receive 
the  attention  of  biologists  in  order  that  society  may  de- 
mand proper  attention  for  the  mother  during  the  gestational 
period.  To  what  extent  a  special  psychical  bent  can  thus 
be  deliberately  imparted  to  the  child  is  not  yet  known. 
At  present,  comparatively  little  importance  is  attached 
to  this  idea,  but  the  belief  that  causal  relationships  exist 
has  considerable  support.  The  more  important  question, 
however,  is,  What  influence  does  the  physical  condition  of 
the  expectant  mother  have  upon  the  physique  of  the  child  ? 
That  the  child  may  suffer  constitutionally  if  subjected 
to  abnormal  conditions  during  the  prenatal  period  is  un- 
questionable. The  foetus,  if  insufficiently  nourished,  may 
be  retarded  in  its  development,  or  defects  in  physical 
structure  ensue,  and  the  child  may  always  remain  a  de- 
fective. The  character  of  nutrition  before  and  immediately 
after  birth  is  one  of  the  most  important  manageable  factors 
in  the  physical  development  of  the  child.  These  phases 
of  the  subject  should  be  studied  in  greater  detail  by  the 
specialist. 

As  has  been  shown  by  John  Fiske,  the  absolute  helpless- 
ness of  the  newly  born  babe  and  the  prolongation  of  the 
period  of  childhood  furnish  the  human  being  with  untold 
possibilities  of  development.  The  comparative  unim- 
portance of  instinct  and  the  supreme  plasticity  of  the 
child  allow  the  marvelous  development  of  reason  that 
man  has  enjoyed.  The  impressionable  child  easily  yields 
to  the  influence  of  contact  with  the  remaining  members  of 
the  family.     In  early  life  certain  characteristics  and  psy- 


4  INTRODUCTION 

chical  traits  become  relatively  fixed  owing  to  the  constant 
association  with  special  mental  types.  That  part  of  the 
child's  psychical  nature  which  is  clearly  and  absolutely 
individual  and  unique  is  relatively  small.  The  greater 
portion  of  his  characteristic  mental  endowment  is  gained 
from  the  interaction  of  his  own  small  mental  nucleus  with 
the  minds  of  his  parents  and  of  the  other  members  of  the 
family.  The  fixation  of  traits  in  the  human  being  should 
be  a  paramount  consideration  in  the  training  and  develop- 
ment of  the  child  during  the  entire  adolescent  period  of 
his  life.  It  is  well  known  how  ardently  adults  cling  to  the 
beliefs  and  traditions  acquired  during  childhood.  Right 
training  from  the  earliest  self-conscious  moments  of  the 
child's  life  is,  therefore,  a  matter  of  great  sociological  im- 
portance. Social  heredity  within  the  family  —  that  is, 
the  transmission  of  ancestral  ideas,  traditions,  prejudices, 
and  knowledge  —  is  a  powerful  factor  in  the  hfe  of  every 
normal  individual.  "Like  father,  like  son,"  is  often  largely 
the  result  of  this  species  of  communication  and  influence. 
The  general  tendency  of  the  children  to  follow  the  religious 
and  political  inclination  of  their  parents  illustrates  the 
power  of  social  heredity,  which  is  in  actual  fact  a  condition 
of  environment. 

Most  important  among  the  conditions  of  environment 
are  the  home  surroundings  of  the  child.  His  home  environ- 
ment continues  comparatively  unchanged  for  a  longer 
period  of  time  than  do  external  conditions.  Home  life 
and  adequate  home  training  are,  therefore,  vital  in  the 
development  of  the  child.  Unless  prevented,  the  boy, 
particularly,  soon  becomes  partially  subject  to  influences 
emanating  from  without  the  home,  and  these  in  turn  tend 
to  mold  his  character  as  well  as  to  affect  his  physical  well- 
being.  His  associates,  the  manner  of  his  life,  the  sani- 
tary conditions  of  school,  street,  alley,  or  workshop  —  all 
of  these  considerations  directly  affect  both  his  physique 


INTRODUCTION  5 

and  character.  Attention  to  the  environment  of  the  child 
both  within  and  without  the  home  is  accordingly  the  sine 
qua  non  of  the  solution  of  our  child  problems. 

3.  Social  Obligations  to  Childhood. 

Nowhere  does  history  indicate  that  so  many  rights 
were  accorded  to  childhood  as  are  conceded  to  it  to-da5^ 
Men  have  been  accustomed  to  life  in  the  present,  taking 
but  little  thought  of  the  morrow.  They  have  considered 
but  slightly  the  influence  of  the  existing  condition  of  society 
on  the  character  of  the  society  of  the  future.  As  thought 
for  the  morrow  has  increased,  society  has  become  more 
unselfish  and  has  begun  to  build  for  the  interests  of  the 
coming  generations.  This  has  frequently  involved  a  rela- 
tive subordination  of  immediate  interests  and  has  been 
accompanied  by  considerable  cost.  The  self-abnegation 
of  society  consists  usually  of  the  sacrifice  of  present  pleas- 
ures for  the  future  advantage  of  the  race.  Carried  out 
consistently,  such  a  policy  eventually  results  in  the  de- 
velopment of  certain  rights  of  childhood.  Some  of  these 
expanding  rights  are  not  yet  adequately  recognized  by 
society.  As  the  existence  of  abstract  rights  may  be  ques- 
tioned, it  will  be  less  confusing  to  consider  these  claims 
upon  the  present  generation  as  obligations  to  childhood. 

a.    The  Preservation  of  Life. 

The  first  claim  of  the  child  upon  society  is  that  of  proper 
care  while  a  helpless  babe  so  that  he  may  retain  the  inde- 
pendent life  given  to  him  at  birth.  He  was  not  consulted 
in  regard  to  the  desirability  of  coming  into  existence  and 
had  no  power  to  will  or  forbid  this  event.  The  individuals 
who  are  responsible  for  his  birth  have  therefore  incurred 
new  responsibilities  and  obligations.  The  child  has  a  right 
to  a  fair  chance  for  fife.  If  parents  are  delinquent  in  fur- 
nishing their  children  with  this  opportunity,  it  is  the  clear 
duty  of  the  state  to  interfere  in  behalf  of  defrauded  child- 


6  INTRODUCTION 

hood.  The  duty  of  society  to  the  child  must  be  gradually 
extended  because  parental  neglect  imposes  a  relatively 
greater  social  loss  and  cost  as  civihzation  advances  and 
becomes  more  complex.  Society  should  determine  what 
class  of  children  shall  be  allowed  to  come  into  existence, 
but,  once  born,  all  normal  children  have  the  unequivocal 
right  to  be,  saved  from  all  forms  of  preventable  death. 

The  right  to  life  is  indicated  in  the  penalty  for  the  pre- 
meditated destruction  of  foetal  life.  Primitive  society, 
however,  seldom  recognized  this  obligation,  and  many 
tribes  even  claimed  the  right  to  sacrifice  all  children  who 
were  not  desired.  Infanticide  has  been  a  common  prac- 
tice among  nearly  all  savage  peoples  and  was  not  unknown 
among  semicivilized  tribes.  The  Africa  and  Asia  of  to- 
day still  furnish  numerous  examples  of  this  practice.  Not 
only  has  it  been  customary  to  slay  the  weak,  crippled,  and 
defective,  but  the  life  of  all,  especially  that  of  female  chil- 
dren, depended  upon  the  caprice  of  the  parents.  For- 
tunately, civilized  nations  with  higher  ideals  have  con- 
trolling power  among  these  barbarous  peoples,  and  the 
crime  of  infanticide  has  been  almost  abolished. 

Among  the  poor  in  our  own  country  and  also  in  other 
civihzed  lands  a  situation  has  arisen  which  in  general 
results  does  not  differ  materially  from  the  infanticide  of  old. 
This  statement  may  be  illustrated  by  many  authenticated 
cases  of  which  the  following  is  an  ordinary  example :  In 
one  of  our  large  cities  a  mother  has  given  birth  to  eleven 
children,  all  of  whom,  with  two  exceptions,  are  now  dead. 
Ignorance  and  lack  of  care  have  been  the  predominant 
causes  of  this  heavy  mortality.  The  last  two  children  were 
twins,  and  owing  to  absolute  inability  and  ignorance  on  the 
part  of  the  mother  they  became  badly  diseased.  The 
physician  recommended  that  they  be  sent  to  the  hospital, 
but  the  mother  at  first  refused  to  allow  them  to  go.  When 
finally  taken  they  died  within  a  few  days.     Society  has 


INTRODUCTION  7 

still  to  learn  the  vital  truths  that  its  own  interests  are  para- 
mount, that  mothers  have  a  right  to  knowledge  and  oppor- 
tunity, and  that  such  instances  of  cruelty  must  not  be 
tolerated.  In  sheer  self-defense,  society  must  develop 
the  principles  of  justifiable  interference  with  the  species 
of  neglect  illustrated  above.  Our  obligations  to  extend 
to  infants  the  right  to  life  demand  this  development. 

b.  The  Preservation  of  Health. 

Nothing  mihtates  against  future  industrial  and  social 
efficiency  so  much  as  does  the  absence  of  health.  Without 
health,  education  and  training  are  almost  impossible  and 
the  physical  and  mental  faculties  are  permanently  impaired. 
Boys  need  to  be  given  the  opportunity  to  grow  up  into 
robust  men,  and  in  the  case  of  the  girls,  physical  training 
and  muscular  exercise  are  even  more  necessary,  especially 
since  the  tendency  of  civiUzation  has  been  to  retard  that 
symmetrical  development  which  our  futm^e  mothers  need. 
The  keen  competition  of  to-day  and  the  new  demands  of 
social  and  industrial  fife  are  so  important  that  the  growing 
child  must  demand  that  he  be  physically  prepared  to  meet 
the  exigencies  of  a  new  era.  Otherwise  he  will  soon  join  the 
ranks  of  the  great  and  constantly  increasing  army  of  the 
unfit  and  unemployable.  A  changing  social  attitude 
toward  the  problem  of  the  child's  health  is  a  natural  con- 
sequence of  this  danger.  The  recent  movement  in  favor 
of  medical  inspection  of  school  children  is  a  case  in  point. 
Society  must  care  for  the  diseased  and  disabled.  But 
much  more  important  is  the  task  of  insisting  upon  repair- 
ing the  palpable  physical  defects  of  our  children  so  that  the 
age  of  incapacity  may  be  indefinitely  postponed.  The 
realization  of  such  a  program  demands  extension  of  pubHc 
authority  which  may  at  present  appear  almost  entirely 
unwarranted,  yet  the  course  of  civihzation  is  inexorably 
carrying  us  in  this  direction. 

The  legitimacy  of  the  prohibition  of  child  labor  is  in  part 


8  INTRODUCTION 

based  upon  the  physical  injury  which  such  work  entails. 
The  danger  is  accentuated  by  the  double  source  from  which 
it  emanates  —  the  pernicious  influence  of  factory  life  upon 
the  immature  and  undeveloped  body,  and  the  inability  of 
the  plastic  and  growing  body  to  withstand  the  arduous 
task  of  continued  manual  labor.  That  the  child  must  not 
be  compelled  or  allowed  to  sacrifice  his  health  for  the  mere 
pittance  which  he  earns  is  now  generally  accepted ;  al- 
though not  more  than  seventy-five  years  ago  reputable 
economists  opposed  interference  by  the  state  in  behalf 
of  the  little  ten-year-old  child  working  underground  in  the 
coal  mines  of  England !  The  social  obligation  to  child- 
hood in  this  respect  has  developed  with  a  fair  degree  of 
rapidity,  and  the  near  future  will  witness  the  emergence 
of  this  obligation  into  a  definite  right,  which  cannot  be 
gainsaid  nor  overthrown. 

c.  The  Right  to  Play. 

All  animals  play.  Play  is  fikewise  one  of  the  funda- 
mental instincts  of  the  child.  If  there  are  any  inherent 
rights  of  childhood,  the  right  to  play  must  be  considered 
one  of  them.  It  carries  with  it  immeasurable  benefits,  but 
the  exact  results  still  remain  comparatively  uncertain. 
It  is  unquestionable,  however,  that  play  promotes  the 
physical  and  mental  development  of  the  child  and  that  it 
is  no  mean  factor  in  his  social  and  moral  elevation.  In 
fact  the  social  value  of  play  is  one  of  the  incontrovertible 
reasons  for  the  furtherance  of  the  playground  movement. 
The  democratic  impulses  which  well-regulated  play  fosters 
are  an  urgent  need  of  the  present  era. 

The  ancient  attitude  toward  play  was  that  of  toleration 
of  the  ebullient  spirits  of  the  growing  boy.  It  was  a  ram- 
pant impulse  which  could  not  be  checked,  so  parents  sub- 
mitted from  necessity.  The  utilitarian  function  of  play 
was  undreamed  of.  The  physical  weakness  of  the  child 
and  his  incapacity  for  concentrated  thought  and  endeavor 


INTRODUCTION  9 

saved  to  him  the  enjoyment  of  play  until  his  parents  could 
use  his  services  in  some  gainful  occupation.  Work  was 
substituted  for  play  as  soon  as  the  most  limited  degree  of 
success  offered  some  justification  for  such  action.  Play  — 
the  most  enjoyable  right  of  childhood  —  was  unduly  cur- 
tailed, and  even  at  the  present  day  its  value  is  minimized 
by  many  who  do  not  recognize  its  varied  functions.  Dis- 
regarding the  different  theories  respecting  the  origin  of 
play  either  in  animals  or  in  man,  the  present  social  value 
of  play  can  not  be  denied.  Play  involves  freedom  from 
work  and  adequate  leisure  from  the  duties  of  the  school- 
room. Nor  can  it  be  socially  successful  without  sufficient 
space  or  playground  faciUties.  Consequently  a  new  duty 
of  society  has  arisen  —  that  of  providing  the  child  with 
ample  field  for  the  enjoyment  of  the  opportunity  to  play. 

d.    The  Right  to  Freedom  from  Work. 

Prominent  among  the  rights  of  the  child  must  be  the 
right  to  abstain  from  the  task  of  earning  money  either 
for  his  own  support  or  to  increase  the  family  income. 
jPremature  child  labor  is  an  absolute  evil  and  is  wholly 
(without  justification.  Employment  of  children  under  a 
certain  age  in  factories,  mills,  workshops,  mercantile  estab- 
lishments, and  in  the  street  trades  inflicts  irremediable 
consequences.  Among  the  principal  results  of  such  prema- 
ture child  labor  are :  the  danger  to  health  and  physical 
development ;  the  handicap  in  the  acquisition  of  a  trade  ; 
the  mental  retardation  involved ;  the  real  loss  of  oppor- 
tunity for  self-development ;  the  bar  to  future  social  and 
industrial  efl^iciency;  the  incentive  to  criminality  afforded, 
and  the  consequent  moral  degradation.  The  question 
of  child  labor  is  therefore  fraught  with  deep  meaning  for 
future  generations,  and  has  become  an  important  social 
problem. 

'  The  enlightened  view  of  to-day  refuses  to  regard  the 
child  as  a  mere  commercial  asset  of  the  parent.     On  the 


10  INTRODUCTION 

contrary  the  relation  of  the  two  is  exactly  reversed.  Until 
children  reach  a  certain  age  it  is  absolutely  necessary  that 
they  be  supported  by  their  parents,  and  society  must  en- 
force this  obligation.  The  child  as  interest-bearing  capital 
has  no  place  in  the  enlightened  civihzation  of  our  present 
industrial  age.  The  right  of  society  to  restrict  labor  in 
factories  and  establishments  of  all  kinds,  while  now  gen- 
erally recognized,  does  not  include  the  right  to  restrain 
parents  from  using  their  children  for  gainful  purposes. 
Until  the  community  recognizes  the  social  interests  in- 
volved in  such  interference,  it  will  be  necessary  for  private 
agencies  to  use  their  influence  in  behalf  of  the  child. 

Freedom  from  work  does  not  legitimize  idleness.  The 
idle  child  soon  becomes  the  victim  of  its  wayward  impulses, 
or  of  incorrigible  companions,  and  rapidly  degenerates. 
The  evils  of  idleness  are  perhaps  more  serious  than  those  of 
work,  but  this  fact  in  no  way  justifies  premature  child 
labor.  Childhood  is  a  period  of  training  when  preparation 
for  the  duties  of  life  is  being  made  and  while  society  must 
demand  rigid  requirements  of  the  growing  child,  these 
requirements  are  entirely  consistent  with  his  general  wel- 
fare. The  adjustment  of  the  individual  in  our  industrial 
and  social  relations  is  so  delicate  that  nothing  can  be  over- 
looked to  make  that  adjustment  perfect.  The  more  dif- 
ficult the  adaptation,  the  greater  the  need  of  previous 
training  and  of  preparation  for  the  individual's  life  work. 
Accordingly  an  adequate  program  for  the  development  of 
the  child  must  be  adopted. 

e.   The  Right  to  Education. 

The  educational  advantages  which  society  must  grant  to 
the  child  are  at  least  threefold :  literary  and  industrial 
training ;  moral  education ;  and  a  knowledge  of  the  ele- 
ments of  sex  physiology.  Without  extensive  development 
along  each  of  these  very  important  lines,  many  social  evils 
will  remain  to  retard  the  progress  of  mankind.     In  our 


INTRODUCTION  11 

complex  social  life  of  to-day,  education  has  assumed  star- 
tling importance.  Comparatively  illiterate  men  have 
until  recently  been  able  to  acquire  a  considerable  compe- 
tence and  even  to  amass  a  large  fortune.  This  is  no  longer 
possible,  and  without  training  few  men  can  hope  to  suc- 
ceed. A  large  percentage  of  our  recent  immigrants  are 
illiterate ;  but  illiteracy  abroad,  owing  to  relatively  simple 
conditions,  does  not  constitute  the  handicap  that  it  does 
in  the  United  States.  If  the  injury  resulting  from  ignorance 
were  confined  to  the  individual  affected,  the  community 
would  hardly  be  justified  in  interfering;  but  an  entire  group 
may  suffer  because  of  the  ignorance  of  one  of  its  members, 
and  may  therefore  be  forced  to  lower  their  standard  of  life. 
Compulsory  education  is  a  justifiable  measure  of  coercing 
the  negligent. 

The  training  required  must  meet  the  direct  occupational 
need  of  the  child.  Otherwise  it  is  only  a  halfway  meas- 
ure, and  society  has  not  fully  discharged  its  obligations. 
Machine  production  and  the  consequent  extensive  divi- 
sion of  labor  necessitate  some  preparation  for  trade  Hfe. 
The  growing  problem  of  unemployment  cannot  be  solved 
unless  greater  attention  is  paid  to  the  untrained  child. 
Low  wages  and  shameful  conditions  of  living  are  partly  due 
to  defective  education.  Society  must  furnish  the  individual 
with  the  initial  equipment  necessary  for  a  life  of  usefulness 
and  profit.  The  most  important  step  in  the  direction  of 
equahzation  of  opportunity  is  training  for  industrial  effi- 
ciency. But  the  other  interests  of  the  child  should  also 
receive  due  recognition,  therefore  literary  training  cannot 
be  neglected. 

Recent  developments  also  demand  a  revision  of  the 
methods  pursued  in  providing  our  youth  with  a  moral 
education.  The  child  is  the  unshaped  marble  out  of  which 
is  hewn  the  virtuous  man  or  the  criminal.  Shall  no  one 
superintend  the  sculptor's  work  ?    The  results  of  improper 


12  INTRODUCTION 

and  insufficient  moral  training  are  already  too  evident. 
By  providing  effective  moral  training  for  the  child,  society 
can  prevent  such  criminality  as  is  due  to  wrong  methods 
of  training ;  and  so  much  at  least  the  present  owes  to  the 
future. 

A  form  of  education  which  is  now  demanding  increased 
attention  is  discreet  education  along  the  Hnes  of  sex  physi- 
ology. So  direful  have  been  the  consequences,  especially 
to  the  female  sex,  of  the  absence  of  needed  knowledge  that 
advanced  thinkers  are  justly  demanding  reform.  The 
adolescent  youth  of  to-day  should  be  protected  from  the 
bitter  results  of  an  ignorance  which  depends  upon  the  mis- 
taken ideals  of  parents  and  upon  the  failure  of  the  schools 
to  appreciate  the  problem.  The  physical  welfare  of  society, 
the  happiness  of  the  home,  and  the  social  emancipation  of 
woman,  depend  in  large  part  upon  sufficient,  rational,  and 
timely  instruction  in  this  subject.  It  is  a  child  problem, 
because  the  instruction  cannot  be  delayed  until  the  young 
mind  is  blackened  by  the  evil  teaching  of  the  vicious. 

The  duty  of  society  to  care  for  the  dependent  and  neg- 
lected child  admits  of  no  controversy.  Such  children  are 
not  responsible  for  their  misfortunes,  and  society  is  pledged 
to  grant  them  opportunities  for  a  useful  life.  This  general 
duty  of  society,  coupled  with  the  expanding  rights  of  child- 1 
hood  as  outlined  above,  gives  rise  to  the  series  of  child! 
problems  discussed  in  this  book  under  the  following  heads  ; 

Book  I.  Infant  and  Child  Mortality. 

Book  II.  Recent  Aspects  of  Educational  Reform. 

Book  III.  Child  Labor. 

Book  IV.  The  Delinquent  Child. 

Book  V.  The  Dependent  and  Neglected  Child. 


BOOK   I 

INFANT  AND  CHILD  MORTALITY 


CHAPTER  I 
infant  and  child  mortality.    historical* 

1.  Introductory. 

The  abstract  right  of  the  child  to  life  has  slowly  received 
concrete  expression  in  measures  designed  to  reduce  infant 
and  child  mortality.  Happily  the  history  of  the  world 
demonstrates  the  possibility  of  almost  unlimited  progress. 
The  gradual  decrease  in  mortahty  during  the  centuries 
indicates  that  ameUorative  forces  have  been  constantly 
in  operation.  Mortality  rates  both  for  infants  and  adults 
depend  upon  many  complex  considerations,  and  society  is 
learning  the  social,  economic,  and  physiological  factors 
which  determine  the  fluctuations,  gains,  and  losses.  The 
economic  conditions,  the  social  environment,  the  moral 
and  intellectual  standards,  and  the  advance  in  medical 
science  of  any  community  are  reflected  in  the  vitality  of 
its  children.  In  fact,  the  infant  and  child  mortahty  of  a 
people  is  a  barometer  of  their  social  progress. 

1  The  subject  of  vital  statistics  has  become  increasingly  important  in 
the  United  States  and  will,  we  hope,  ere  long  faithfully  reflect  our  general 
mortality  rates  and  enable  us  to  reason  concerning  our  social  and  eco- 
nomic defects,  and  to  point  out  the  improvements  possible  along  other 
scientific  lines,  including,  of  course,  the  medical.  We  are  far  behind 
other  countries  in  this  respect.  Especially  is  this  true  of  the  older  Euro- 
pean countries,  which  have  all  given  considerable  attention  to  the  careful 
collaboration  of  statistics  on  these  vital  matters.  They  are,  therefore, 
able  to  follow  more  closely  and  with  greater  accuracy  the  exact  tendencies 
which  are  evident.    About  one  third  of  our  states  (Maine,  New  Hamp- 

15 


16  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

The  problem  of  infant  mortality  formerly  received  but 
little  attention  apart  from  occasional  references  to  the  sub- 
ject by  physicians.  When  birth  rates  were  high,  the  social 
consequences  of  a  large  annual  loss  were  hardly  apparent, 
and  the  matter  received  little  consideration.  In  recent 
years  loss  of  life  has  become  a  very  serious  problem  and  the 
individual  has  become  relatively  more  valuable.  Moral 
obhgations  now  compel  us  to  save  life  whenever  possible. 
The  history  of,  and  present  facts  relating  to,  infant  mortality 
therefore  clearly  indicate  the  nature  of  the  problem,  the 
duties  of  society,  and  the  methods  necessary  to  secure 
lower  death  rates. 

2.    Decline  in  the  Death  Rates  of  Children. 

In  investigating  the  present  waste  of  child  life  we  must 
not  overlook  the  progress  of  the  last  two  centuries.  We 
cannot  deny  our  immeasurable  superiority  over  the  civiliza- 
tion of  two  hundred  years  ago.  Then  a  large  majority  of 
the  children  born  in  London  perished  before  they  reached 
the  fifth  year  of  life.  What  a  brutal  waste  of  energy  and 
life  blood  such  a  record  of  mortality  shows  !  Yet  the  be- 
ginnings of  national  life  throughout  Europe  were  accom- 

shire,  Vermont,  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  New  York, 
New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  District  of  Columbia,  Wisconsin, 
Michigan,  Indiana,  California,  Colorado,  and  South  Dakota)  collect 
their  vital  statistics  in  sufficient  detail  to  justify  the  Bureau  of  the  Cen- 
sus in  including  them  in  its  list  of  registration  states.  A  large  number 
of  cities  in  other  states  also  cover  this  ground  so  well  as  to  be  included 
in  the  list  of  registration  cities.  The  entire  registration  area  at  present 
comprises  more  than  one  half  of  our  total  population.  The  facts  in 
regard  to  birth  rates  are  not  treated  adequately  and  have  a  limited  value 
only.  Likewise,  the  records  of  infant  death  rates  are  not  precise  and  do 
not  reveal  the  exact  situation,  but  are  more  nearly  correct  than  the 
statistics  relating  to  birth.  Therefore  the  computation  of  the  rate  of 
infant  mortality  on  the  basis  of  the  recorded  number  of  births  will  lead 
to  a  small  percentage  of  error.  On  the  whole,  however,  tendencies  are 
certainly  indicated  and  comparisons  can  be  made  between  different  cities, 
states,  and  localities.  Sufficient  accuracy  has  been  attained  to  enable 
the  sociologist  to  use  the  statistics  for  practical  purposes. 


INFANT  AND  CHILD  MORTALITY  17 

panied  by  a  similar  waste  of  child  life.  Accordingly  the 
population  of  nearly  every  European  country  increased 
but  slowly  until  about  1750.  The  infant  mortality  of 
London  was  little  higher  than  that  of  other  English  cities, 
and  all  England  as  well  as  the  continent  lived  beneath  the 
pall  of  the  blighting  destroyer  of  little  children.  Even  as 
late  as  1761,  50  per  cent  of  the  Enghsh  population  died 
before  reaching  the  age  of  twenty.  The  enormous  gain 
of  to-day  is  not  appreciated  until  one  realizes  that  at 
present  one  half  of  the  people  of  England  Hve  until  the 
fifty-fourth  year  has  been  reached.  It  will  occasion  no 
surprise  to  learn  that  in  Prussia  during  the  decade  1751- 
1760,  only  312  out  of  every  1000  children  survived  to  the 
age  of  ten.^  In  other  words,  two  thirds  of  the  entire  popu- 
lation failed  to  reach  an  age  of  social  usefulness,  and  per- 
ished while  still  a  burden  to  parents  and  a  cost  to  society. 
Russia  likewise  has  been  a  laggard  in  its  attention  to  the 
moral  and  social  conditions  which  result  in  a  low  infantile 
death  rate.  It  has  been  estimated  that  at  the  beginning 
of  the  nineteenth  century  only  one  third  of  the  children  of 
Russian  peasants  grew  to  maturity  and  that  not  more  than 
36  per  cent  of  the  entire  population  of  Russia  reached  the 
age  of  twenty  years  !  Not  so  many  years  ago  many  scien- 
tists believed  that  a  city  population  left  to  its  own  repro- 
ductive powers  would  gradually  die  out.  Luckily  this 
dismal  philosophy  has  been  dissipated  by  the  humanitarian 
and  scientific  progress  of  our  recent  civilization.  Cities 
actually  do  maintain  themselves  by  means  of  a  birth 
rate  larger  than  their  death  rate.  Although  they  draw 
heavily  upon  the  rural  districts,  they  would  still  in- 
crease in  size  were  they  to  rely  entirely  upon  their  own 
native  vitahty. 

1  Roscher,  William,  Political  Economy,  Vol.  II,  p.  307.     These  statis- 
tics, as  well  as  most  figures  for  the  eighteenth  century  and  before,  prob- 
ably contain  a  considerable  percentage  of  error. 
o 


18  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

3.  Historical  Stages. 

a.   First  Period. 

The  history  of  infant  mortahty  is  roughly  divided  into 
three  separate  stages  or  periods,  each  characterized  by  its 
own  distinctive  features  and  results.  No  date  can  be 
given  for  the  beginning  of  the  first  stage,  which  represents 
the  period  during  which  the  costly  inactivity  of  society 
was  slowly  succeeded  by  increased  attention  to  the  lot  of 
the  newly  born  and  helpless  child.  Only  the  most  patent 
and  active  causes  of  mortality  were  removed,  however. 
During  this  period  began  the  triumph  of  man's  power  over 
disease.  The  absence  of  preventive  medicine  and  in- 
capacity to  cure  disease  were  serious  handicaps,  and  prob- 
ably the  history  of  the  Caucasian  race  furnishes  no  more 
striking  example  of  the  power  and  havoc  of  scourge  than 
that  of  smallpox.  Formerly  it  was  the  most  frightful 
of  contagious  diseases,  and  very  few  individuals  —  prob- 
ably not  more  than  4  per  cent  of  all  persons  reaching  the 
age  of  thirty  —  escaped  all  attacks  of  this  ever  present 
plague.  Two  thirds  of  the  entire  infant  population  are 
said  to  have  been  attacked,  and  a  large  mortality  resulted. 
Westergaarde  points  out  that  in  Sweden  during  the  decade 
1751-1760,  13  per  cent  of  all  deaths  were  due  to  smallpox 
—  a  proportion  far  in  excess  of  that  caused  by  the  "White 
Plague"  of  to-day.  Owing  to  the  high  rates  of  mortality 
which  then  prevailed,  the  absolute  death  rates  from  small- 
pox were  enormous.  During  certain  years  the  proportion 
in  France  rose  to  10  per  cent,  while  that  in  Liverpool  has 
been  as  high  as  20  per  cent.  Toward  the  close  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  the  remarkable  discoveries  of  Jenner 
finally  brought  smallpox  into  subjection.  A  very  rapid 
decline  of  the  mortality  from  this  disease  has  taken  place, 
and  now  deaths  from  smallpox  are  almost  a  negligible 
factor  in  the  records  of  vital  statistics.     The  pitted  faces 


INFANT  AND  CHILD  MORTALITY  19 

once  so  prevalent  are  seldom  seen  to-day,  and  because  of  the 
comparative  elimination  of  this  disease,  the  average  dura- 
tion of  life  has  been  increased  three  and  one  half  years. 
On  account  of  its  frequency,  smallpox  was  formerly  a 
children's  disease  ;  to-day  in  the  United  States  the  average 
age  of  persons  dying  from  it  is  about  twenty-seven  years. 
Vaccination  has  saved  the  adult  as  well  as  the  child. 

The  progress  which  was  made  during  this  period  is  further 
illustrated  by  the  decreased  variations  in  the  general  death 
rates  of  London.^  The  death  rates  during  certain  years 
in  the  decade  1740-1750  was  60  per  cent  higher  than  that 
occurring  in  other  years  of  the  same  decade.  During  the 
following  half  century,  fluctuations  of  333^  per  cent  were 
common,  but  in  the  decade  1820-1830  the  variations  did 
not  exceed  20  per  cent.  Even  such  a  percentage  would 
furnish  occasion  for  alarm  at  the  present  day. 

Among  the  important  reforms  inaugurated  during  the 
first  period  were  better  housing,  more  effective  sanitation, 
and  the  conquest  of  famine.  Furthermore,  notable  con- 
tributions to  medical  science,  improvement  in  the  quantity 
and  quality  of  food,  the  general  introduction  of  sanitary 
measures,  and  the  promotion  of  better  hygiene,  finally 
mark  the  culmination  of  this  period,  which  came  to  a  close 
about  1840.  The  former  waste  of  child  life  had  by  that 
time  been  reduced  to  rates  of  mortality  but  little  above 
those  prevaihng  at  the  present  time. 

h.  Second  Period.     Stationary. 

The  second  period  lasted  until  the  very  recent  past,  and 
many  localities  still  retain  the  characteristics  of  this  stage. 
Extensive  reforms  had  been  accomplished  in  the  former 
period,  therefore  society  settled  down  to  a  time  of  com- 
parative indifference  and  neglect,  of  which  little  children 
were  the  unhappy  victims.  Accordingly,  during  the  last 
fifty  years  the  death  rate  in  England  for  children  under 

1  Roscher,  William,  Political  Economy,  Vol.  II,  p.  308. 


20  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

one  year  of  age  has  remained  practically  unchanged, 
although  the  general  death  rate  has  decreased  18  per  cent. 
This  fact  indicates  indifference  to  the  causes  of  infant 
mortality.  France  actually  showed  an  increase  in  infant 
death  rates  between  1840  and  1880,  and  in  many  German 
localities  alarming  rates  still  prevail.  In  Massachusetts 
the  mortality  of  children  under  the  age  of  one  increased 
slightly  between  1856  and  1895,  but  meanwhile  the  death 
rates  of  children  under  five  slowly  declined.  These  facts 
indicate  that  the  needs  of  infants  were  not  understood,  nor 
were  the  means  of  meeting  such  needs  known.  The  pe- 
cuHar  susceptibility  of  the  babe  to  the  smallest  environ- 
mental change,  whether  in  external  conditions  or  in  char- 
acter of  food  given,  was  not  appreciated.  Furthermore, 
infants  suffered  from  the  comparatively  low  value  at  which 
they  were  rated. 

Perhaps  the  all-absorbing  growth  of  industrialism  de- 
flected attention  from  many  of  the  serious  social  problems 
of  the  day.  Interference  with  individuals  to  save  them 
from  the  consequences  of  their  own  ignorance  was  prac- 
ticed in  part  only.  Laws  affecting  child  labor  and  the 
employment  of  women  had  indeed  been  passed  and  put 
into  operation.  To  carry  the  work  of  social  education  to 
the  parents'  homes  was  still  unthought  of,  and  the  ameli- 
orative program  of  the  philanthropy  of  that  day  had  not 
been  succeeded  by  the  recent  insistence  on  preventive 
methods. 

c.    Third  Period.     Preventive  Methods. 

The  third  period  has  only  recently  been  inaugurated.  It 
is  characterized  by  intensive  methods  of  saving  human 
hfe.  Precedents  are  being  broken  as  new  poUcies  are 
adopted.  Old  principles  are  being  discarded  as  new  ones 
are  accepted.  Problems  of  human  betterment  are  being 
solved.  The  social  importance  of  the  birth  of  a  child  and 
the  duty  of  society  to  grant  that  child  an  opportunity  for 


INFANT  AND  CHILD  MORTALITY  21 

life  and  health  are  facts  that  are  rapidly  being  recognized. 
We  are  hving  in  the  sunshine,  not  in  the  shadow,  of  a  former 
age,  and  our  present  watchword  is  the  future,  not  the  past. 
Examples  of  energetic  application  to  the  task  of  reducing 
infant  mortality  are  found  in  the  recent  work  of  Hudders- 
field,  England,  and  Rochester,  New  York.  About  1885 
Paris  likewise  began  a  crusade  against  the  high  death  rates 
among  its  children.  The  recent  rapid  growth  of  knowledge 
about  the  micro-organisms  that  attack  the  human  body  is 
proving  a  tremendous  aid  in  the  solution  of  the  question. 
The  most  dangerous  and  destructive  children's  diseases 
can  be  almost  entirely  eliminated  by  the  recently  discovered 
methods  of  attacking  germ  diseases,  and  of  all  the  possible 
attempts  to  lessen  the  average  death  rates  of  to-day,  efforts 
directed  toward  the  diminution  of  infant  and  child  mor- 
tality promise  to  be  rewarded  with  the  most  immediate 
and  abundant  success. 

It  is  the  purpose  of  Book  I  to  call  attention  to  this  serious 
problem,  to  point  out  present  difficulties  in  the  way  of  its 
solution,  and  to  suggest  such  methods  of  amelioration 
as  would  probably  prove  successful.  Our  brief  historical 
review  of  the  progress  which  society  has  already  achieved 
indicates  that  bed  rock  has  not  yet  been  reached ;  that 
thousands  of  child  lives  are  still  wantonly  wasted,  and  that 
an  efficient  method  of  reducing  infant  mortahty  is  one  of 
the  most  urgent  needs  of  the  day. 


CHAPTER  II 
general  aspects  of  the  problem 

1.  The  Waste  of  Life. 

The  law  of  natural  selection  has  undoubtedly  been  a 
tremendous  factor  in  fixing  the  physical  and  physiological 
traits  of  human  kind.  From  the  infancy  of  human  exist- 
ence up  to  the  present  time  it  has  been  ceaseless  in  its 
operation,  diminishing  in  intensity,  however,  with  the 
gradually  increasing  control  by  man  of  the  natural  environ- 
ment. The  waste  which  natural  selection  incurs  among 
animal  life  is  stupendous.  But  for  the  rigorous  processes 
and  destructiveness  of  nature,  even  the  most  slowly  repro- 
ducing animals  would  soon  overstock  the  earth.  The 
early  life  of  man  is  replete  with  the  conditions  of  struggle 
and  contest.  The  primitive  races  have  always  suffered 
from  an  enormous  waste  of  lives.  Every  advance  in  civ- 
ilization, however,  means  a  saving  of  human  lives.  Each 
successively  higher  stage  of  human  society  has  instituted 
additional  saving  processes  and  has  witnessed  a  more 
economical  use  of  nature's  bounties.  Civilization  implies 
an  increasing  utilization  of  our  powers  and  of  our  mental 
and  physical  equipment  as  well  as  the  most  efficient  use 
of  the  many  intricate  forces  of  nature.  The  more  primitive 
a  society,  the  more  absolute  is  its  subjection  to  the  con- 
ditions of  environment  and  the  more  helpless  are  its  mem- 
bers in  the  face  of  disease  and  death. 

Probably  in  no  other  field  of  human  activity  has  man's 
former  ignorance  been  more  lamentable  in  its  consequences 

22 


GENERAL  ASPECTS  OF  THE  PROBLEM  23 

than  in  that  of  rearing  children  —  the  future  parents  of 
the  race.  Even  the  slow  increase  of  savage  tribes  is  pur- 
chased at  a  tremendous  expenditure  of  energy,  and  the 
number  of  infants  and  httle  children  whose  physical  and 
economic  cost  is  never  compensated  for  by  useful  and  pro- 
ductive lives  has  been  appalling.  Although  decreasing 
costs  of  progress  characterize  an  advancing  civilization, 
nations  have  not  until  recently  even  begun  to  realize  the 
costs  involved  in  the  loss  of  infant  and  child  hves. 

Industrial  progress  has  far  outstripped  our  advance  in 
standards  of  hfe  and  other  social  conditions.  The  utiliza- 
tion of  material  formerly  wasted  has  been  developed  into 
a  science,  and  in  some  cases  the  difference  between  profit 
and  loss  has  been  measured  by  this  saving.  The  continued 
decrease  of  necessary  cost  and  labor  is  one  of  the  aims  of 
industry.  Apply  this  principle  to  the  cost  of  propagating 
the  human  race,  and  we  find  that  society  has  hardly  begun 
to  conserve  its  physical  powers  in  economical  ways.  Thou- 
sands of  lives  are  still  needlessly  sacrificed  because  of 
failure  to  appreciate  the  loss.  The  darkness  and  austerity 
of  a  civilization  finds  no  mean  measure  in  its  infant  death 
rate.  In  this  respect  great  progress  has  indeed  been  made, 
but  it  is  an  advance  far  outstripped  by  the  progress  of  in- 
dustry. Much  still  remains  to  be  done.  Problems  of 
vitality  and  of  disease  should  be  studied  from  every  avail- 
able point  of  view,  in  order  to  determine  the  fundamental 
causes  of  conditions  and  to  effect  such  changes  as  may  be 
necessary.  In  Europe  the  subject  of  infant  mortality  is 
regarded  as  a  social  problem.  Books,  although  written 
by  physicians,  have  emphasized  its  social  nature.  It  is 
well,  therefore,  for  the  American  people  to  recognize  every 
phase  of  the  question  and  to  hold  to  strict  accountability 
the  physician  who  treats  the  disease,  the  economist  who 
investigates  the  material  conditions  of  society,  the  moralist 
who  studies  the  influence  of  ethics,  and  the  sociologist  who 


24  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

is  interested  in  the  social  conditions  which  make  for  health 
and  vitality.  The  susceptibihty  of  the  child  to  the  handi- 
caps of  his  environment  intensifies  the  social  nature  of  the 
problem  of  infant  mortality. 

2.   Economic  Cost  of  Child  Mortality. 

Every  child  born  into  this  world  represents  an  invest- 
ment, the  value  of  which  is  measured  by  his  expectation 
of  life  at  birth.  If  his  expectation  is  low,  society  cannot 
hope  for  a  heavy  reahzation  upon  its  outlay.  The  economic 
gain  derived  from  his  services  will  be  small,  and  will  corre- 
spond to  a  low  rate  of  interest  on  an  investment.  Pro- 
ductive human  lives  are  the  assets  of  society,  and  the  divi- 
dends of  progress  depend  upon  the  sum  total  of  years  spent 
in  useful  service.  The  heavy  economic  loss  resulting  from 
a  high  infant  mortality  can  be  but  vaguely  expressed  in 
figures  of  mortality  or  longevity.  Nor  is  it  possible  to 
approximate  the  probable  cost  incurred  in  rearing  the 
children  who  die  before  the  age  of  fifteen  has  been  reached. 
In  most  cases  the  child  before  this  age  is  not  a  producer, 
but  a  consumer  only,  and  remains  an  economic  cost  to 
society.  Vast  sums  are  expended  to  augment  the  future 
efficiency  of  such  children.  Hundreds  of  dollars  are  lav- 
ished on  them,  and  societj^  naturally  expects  some  reim- 
bursement for  its  expenditure.  Former  rates  of  mortality 
were  too  excessive  to  make  a  long  course  of  educational 
training  profitable.  If  we  pause  to  consider  that  every 
death  of  a  child  below  the  age  of  puberty  means  an  absolute 
loss  of  potential  capital  and  productive  power,  our  imagi- 
nation slowly  begins  to  appreciate  the  appalling  loss  to 
society  that  high  death  rates  among  children  involve. 
The  older  the  child,  the  greater  the  cost  which  he  has  en- 
tailed, and  the  greater  the  loss  in  case  of  death.  It  has 
been  estimated  that  among  the  Bontoc  Igorotte  of  the 
Philippines,  60  per  cent  of  all  persons  die  before  the  age 


GENERAL  ASPECTS  OP  THE  PROBLEM  25 

of  puberty  is  reached  !  Is  it  any  wonder  that  these  people 
have  progressed  so  httle  ?  Much  of  their  energy  has  been 
entirely  wasted. 

Western  civilization  has  suffered  severely  from  its  former 
inattention  to  problems  of  health  and  vitality.  Estimates 
based  on  records  for  Geneva,  Switzerland,  indicate  that 
the  expectation  of  life  at  birth  rose  from  twenty-one  and 
one  sixth  years  in  the  last  half  of  the  sixteenth  century  to 
forty  and  two  thirds  years  in  the  first  quarter  of  the  nine- 
teenth. Considered  from  the  economic  point  of  view,  the 
productivity  per  equal  amounts  of  population  in  the  latter 
period  is  more  than  four  times  that  of  the  former.  In  the 
first  period  the  duration  of  life  after  the  beginning  of  the 
productive  period  (say  fifteen  years)  was  a  little  more  than 
six  years ;  in  the  second  it  had  risen  to  twenty-five.  In 
the  older  days,  however,  a  much  larger  proportion  of  in- 
dividuals died  in  the  earlier  age  groups ;  accordingly,  the 
proportions  just  given  are  too  harsh,  and  fail  to  do  com- 
plete justice  to  the  sixteenth  century.  Undoubtedly  a 
comparison  between  the  two  periods  as  to  the  expectation 
of  life  at  the  age  of  fifteen  would  show  a  much  smaller  dis- 
crepancy. Nevertheless,  the  tremendous  cost  of  rearing 
a  productive  population  in  the  sixteenth  century  is  only 
too  evident.  England,  France,  Germany,  and  the  minor 
European  countries  all  testify  to  the  gradually  increasing 
expectation  of  life  of  their  inhabitants.  The  tables  com- 
puted for  Netherlands  show  a  most  remarkable  degree  of 
progress.  In  the  period  1811-1825  one  half  of  the  males 
died  before  reaching  the  age  of  twenty-five.  During  the 
decade  1860-1869  forty  years  represented  a  probable  life- 
time. The  table  by  Van  Pesch  for  1890-1899  shows  that 
the  fifty-sixth  year  is  now  passed  before  one  half  of  the 
males  perish,  although  one  fourth  only  were  left  at  that 
age  in  the  period  1816-1827. 

American  records  indicate  the  heavy  economic  loss  due 


26  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

to  unreasonable  rates  of  mortality.  In  1900  the  average 
expectation  of  life  in  Massachusetts  was  forty-six  years. 
That  for  the  entire  United  States  probably  did  not  differ 
much  from  this.  In  the  same  year  the  death  rates  in  the 
registration  area  of  the  United  States  indicated  that  30 
per  cent  of  all  children  die  before  reaching  the  age  of  fifteen. 
Combining  these  two  sets  of  figures,  we  ascertain  that 
nearly  one  third  of  the  total  number  of  American  children 
fail  to  reach  the  third  part  of  their  expected  lifetime. 
Only  70  per  cent  reach  the  productive  period  of  life  and 
begin  to  yield  returns  upon  the  social  investment.  Risk- 
ing the  possibility  of  a  future  advantage  from  their  ser- 
vices, society  has,  through  their  parents,  provided  the 
children  with  food,  clothing,  shelter,  and  other  necessary 
means  of  subsistence.  It  has  given  the  older  children 
educational  advantages  and,  through  the  agency  of  the 
community,  has  offered  moral  and  religious  instruction. 
Fortunately,  five  eighths  of  the  total  mortaUty  of  the  chil- 
dren under  fifteen  falls  within  the  first  five  years  of  life, 
when  the  economic  cost  of  the  child  has  not  assumed  ex- 
tensive proportions.  The  importance  and  significance  of 
this  economic  problem  has  not  received  due  recognition. 

3.  Physiological  Cost. 

Graver  and  more  serious  than  the  economic  aspect  of  the 
question  is  the  physical  and  physiological  cost  involved 
in  any  useless  waste  of  fife.  From  the  economic  point 
of  view  the  investment  in  growing  children  has  justified 
itself  by  returns  more  than  adequate  to  cover  the  losses 
incurred  by  the  death  of  the  unproductive,  but  no  one  can 
measure  the  physical  loss  resulting  from  an  unnecessary 
rate  of  infant  mortality.  The  burden  of  motherhood  is 
not  lightly  borne.  The  civilization  of  to-day  has,  in  fact, 
aggravated  the  pain  and  suffering  of  parturition,  and  one  of 
the  problems  of  our  current  civiHzation  is  the  restoration 


GENERAL  ASPECTS  OP  THE  PROBLEM  27 

of  our  women  to  a  physiological  condition  which,  like  that 
of  the  European  peasant,  allows  comparatively  easy  con- 
finements. The  physical  life  of  society  must  be  renewed 
at  a  constantly  decreasing  cost.  Other^vise  civilization 
is  stationary.  The  strain  upon  the  life-giving  powers 
and  vital  energies  must  be  made  to  yield  the  maximum  of 
returns.  In  lower  animal  life  reproduction  means  a  dechne 
in  vigor,  or  is  possibly  followed  by  death.  Reproduction 
is  the  Alpha  and  Omega  of  individual  life,  which  is  subor- 
dinated in  importance  to  the  life  of  the  species.  This  is 
Nature^s  law,  not  the  result  of  conscious  planning.  In 
higher  animal  life  a  tax  on  strength  and  vitality  continues. 
Among  human  beings  enlightened  civihzation  recognizes 
that  the  rights  no  less  than  the  duties  of  a  parent  generation 
must  receive  due  consideration.  The  perpetuation  of  the 
race  is  not  the  sole  task  of  our  species.  Consequently  the 
load  borne  by  mothers  needs  to  be  viewed  from  two  stand- 
points, that  of  society  and  that  of  the  individual,  and  the 
necessary  course  of  action  must  be  fair  to  both. 

An  excess  of  births  over  deaths  is  necessary  for  the  growth 
of  society.  The  loss  of  a  large  percentage  of  children  in- 
dicates an  enormous  and  unjustifiable  physiological  waste. 
A  lower  death  rate  produces  at  a  reduced  cost  the  same 
effect  as  a  greater  fecundity.  The  duty  of  motherhood, 
on  the  other  hand,  should  not  be  evaded,  and  must  remain 
for  all  time.  The  necessary  hardships  involved  must  be 
borne,  as  all  necessary  pain  and  suffering  is  borne  by  men 
and  women,  who  are  nowhere  free  from  physical  pain.  To- 
day, however,  the  importance  of  quality  in  human  beings 
is  being  increasingly  recognized,  and  the  unnecessary  tax 
upon  our  mothers  resulting  from  an  extravagant  birth  rate 
is  a  sin  against  which  the  voice  of  the  sociologist  should 
be  raised. 

To  the  individual  mother  the  physical  cost  of  rearing  a 
family  is  twofold :  first,  the  vital  energy  expended  in  bear- 


28  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

ing  and  nursing  the  child;  and  second,  the  "wear  and  tear" 
upon  mothers  in  the  care  of  their  children.  The  first  cost 
continues  until  nearly  a  year  after  the  birth  of  the  child, 
although  the  greatest  expenditure  occurs  during  the  pre- 
natal period.  While  the  economic  cost  of  children  increases 
with  their  age,  this  portion  of  the  physical  cost  is  all  under- 
gone during  the  first  year  of  life,  and  therefore  an  excessive 
infant  mortahty  results  in  almost  a  complete  loss  of  vital 
energy.  The  magnitude  of  this  loss  is  appalling  when  we 
realize  that  out  of  every  five  or  six  children  one  dies  in  the 
first  year  of  life!  Has  not  the  woman  who  has  been  the 
mother  of  six  children,  of  whom  only  three  survive  to  adult 
life,  undergone  a  greater  physical  loss  than  the  mother  of 
three  who  loses  none  of  her  children?  Yet  the  contribu- 
tion to  the  race  is  the  same  for  each.  Furthermore,  the 
latter  mother  has  been  able  to  use  the  saved  energy  in  being 
a  better  wife  and  mother  and  a  more  efficient  member  of 
society.  Are  not  such  birth  rates  as  those  prevailing  in 
certain  parts  of  Europe  and  among  many  classes  in  our  own 
country  brutal  in  their  pressure  upon  people  already  loaded 
down  with  innumerable  troubles?  Without  doubt  the 
physical  life  of  society  can  be  maintained  and  expanded  at 
a  greatly  reduced  cost  and  with  much  better  results. 

The  second  item  of  physical  cost  —  the  constant  strain 
upon  mothers  in  the  care  of  their  children  —  can  never  be 
replaced,  and  we  have  no  right  to  permit  its  wanton  waste. 
When  concentrated  upon  a  few  healthy  children,  it  is 
charged  with  power  for  their  future  welfare,  but  when  this 
energy  is  freely  dissipated  among  sickly,  short-lived  chil- 
dren, the  social  consequences  can  not  be  hopeful,  and  the 
next  generation  has  reason  to  fear  the  effects.  To  guide 
and  train  children  aright  is  not  mere  recreation,  and  efforts 
in  this  direction  can  not  be  too  wisely  expended.  A  reason- 
able increase  in  population  is  a  goal  of  all  thinkers  on  social 
subjects,  and  the  small  families  of  children  that  fail  to  re- 


GENERAL  ASPECTS  OF  THE  PROBLEM         29 

place  their  parents  numerically  and  that  threaten  extinction 
of  the  race  can  not  be  condoned.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
imprudent,  inconsiderate,  and  machine-like  regularity  of 
increase  as  effected  among  certain  classes  of  people,  finds 
no  rational  justification.  And  if  a  large  proportion  of  the 
infants  are  doomed  to  early  death,  an  irreparable  loss  to 
motherhood  has  been  incurred. 

4.  Social  Costs. 

From  the  social,  moral,  and  intellectual  point  of  view, 
the  infant  mortality  of  the  ages  has  been  a  constant  re- 
proach to  men.  Is  it  not  true  that,  two  centuries  ago,  hap- 
less mothers,  full  of  grief  and  anguish  at  the  sight  of  life- 
less babes,  believed  implicitly  in  a  Providence  whose  decree 
was  inexorable,  who  gave  and  who  took  away  the  tiny 
flower  of  love  at  the  first  sign  of  blossom,  to  test  a  mother's 
faith  and  piety?  Social  neglect  fettered  the  souls  and 
minds  of  thousands  and  inflicted  upon  them  a  fatalism 
whose  consequences  were  submissivenessand  unconscious 
brutality.  What  an  exquisite  touch  of  love  and  human 
sympathy  from  the  impassioned  religionists  of  a  former 
time  who  protested  against  the  administration  of  an 
anaesthetic  to  an  expectant  mother,  because,  they  alleged, 
woman  was  irrevocably  cursed  to  suffer,  and  in  pain  and 
sorrow  to  bring  forth  her  offspring ;  therefore,  man  had  no 
right  to  interfere  with  this  divine  decree  !  Happily,  such 
a  morbid  and  barbarous  fatalism  has  been  dissipated  by 
the  medical  advance  of  a  hundred  years  and  by  the  achieve- 
ments of  men  with  active,  throbbing  human  sympathies 
who  have  applied  themselves  to  problems  of  social  better- 
ment. However,  the  gloomy  philosophy  of  a  former  day 
has  not  been  entirely  relegated  to  the  category  of  aban- 
doned behefs.  It  is  no  difficult  task  to-day  to  find  the 
crushed  mother  of  a  family  of  eight  or  ten,  the  majority  of 
whom  have  become  the  victims  of  social  and  individual 


30  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

neglect,  consoling  herself  with  the  thought  that  it  is  God^s 
will  and  she  must  submit.  Were  her  knowledge  wider, 
how  could  she  explain  the  discriminations  against  her  class, 
her  portion  of  the  city,  or  her  particular  locality?  No 
evil  can  be  greater  than  that  which  prevents  the  emanci- 
pation of  the  human  mind.  For  example,  a  mother  of 
eight  children,  a  number  of  whom  are  physically  and  men- 
tally deformed,  in  recent  conversation  indicated  with  phil- 
osophical equanimity  her  intention  to  bear  the  inflictions 
which  a  Higher  Power  had  placed  upon  her !  Would  that 
our  own  depravity  and  wajrwardness  were  assigned  its 
proper  place,  and  not  ascribed  to  Him  to  whom  we  must 
answer  for  our  shortcomings !  That  the  moral  effect  of 
the  social  neglect  of  the  needy  can  be  uplifting  is  not  con- 
ceivable. Furthermore,  the  social  efficiency  of  the  parents 
of  dying  infants  has  been  greatly  diminished,  and  many 
of  the  active,  inspiriting  impulses  which  might  be  contrib- 
uted have  been  lost. 

5.    The  Decline  in  Birth  Rates. 

The  vital  statistics  of  the  last  century  present  two  strik- 
ing phenomena :  a  decreased  birth  rate  and  a  decreased 
death  rate.  It  is  not  certain  that  birth  rates  were  high 
in  the  infancy  of  human  society.  On  the  contrary,  the 
works  of  practically  all  students  of  primitive  races  indicate 
that  a  comparatively  low  birth  rate  obtained  among  sav- 
age peoples.  Evidently  exorbitant  birth  rates  belong  to 
later  stages  —  to  the  civilization  of  the  present  Chinese  and 
to  that  of  Europeans  until  within  the  last  fifty  years.  The 
changing  social  and  economic  conditions  of  the  European 
people  during  recent  centuries  have  had  a  marked  effect 
upon  birth  rates  and  upon  the  growth  of  population.  As 
the  power  and  ability  of  men  to  control  the  conditions  of 
their  environment  was  increasingly  realized,  birth  rates 
lost   their   stability   and   began   to   decline.     Coincident 


GENERAL  ASPECTS  OF  THE  PROBLEM  31 

with  this  decline  there  has  occurred  a  rapid  increase  in 
population.  An  observing  demographer  in  the  early  part 
of  the  last  century  summed  up  the  situation  in  the  follow- 
ing words  :  "  Population  does  not  so  much  increase  because 
more  are  born  but  because  fewer  die."  Conscious  efforts 
by  statesmen  to  enhance  a  nation's  growth  have  not  largely 
influenced  that  nation's  birth  rate.  Undoubtedly  the 
diminished  mortality  of  children  due  to  increased  knowl- 
edge and  better  methods  of  arresting  disease  has  been  the 
dominant  factor  in  the  rapid  increase  of  the  population 
of  the  world  in  the  last  one  hundred  and  fifty  years.  Mer- 
ciless birth  rates  and  abnormal  death  rates  are  being  suc- 
ceeded by  humane  birth  rates  and  a  greatly  decreased 
infant  mortality. 

The  records  of  European  vital  statistics  tell  a  very  sig- 
nificant story.  During  the  decade  1831-1840,  birth  rates 
in  Sweden,  Finland,  Austria,  Prussia,  Belgium,  and  France 
were  higher  than  they  were  in  the  same  countries  during 
the  last  decade  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Between  these 
two  periods  death  rates  declined  very  largely  in  each  one  of 
the  countries  mentioned.  The  reduction  has  been  due 
to  various  causes,  less  in  general,  however,  to  the  mortahty 
of  small  infants  than  to  the  decrease  in  deaths  of  children 
under  five  years  of  age.  In  both  of  the  periods  mentioned 
the  birth  rate  in  each  country  exceeds  its  death  rate,  but 
the  countries  with  the  highest  birth  rates  also  have  the 
highest  mortality.  Furthermore,  in  every  case  except  that 
of  France  the  net  excess  of  births  over  deaths  has  increased 
considerably,  despite  the  universally  lower  birth  rate.  It 
is  clear,  therefore,  that  under  ordinary  conditions  these 
countries  are  arriving  at  the  same  destination,  but  by  means 
of  a  more  humane  method  than  formerly  —  by  paying 
increased  attention  to,  and  removing,  the  causes  that  oper- 
ate to  destroy  human  life. 

An  increase  in  the  birth  rate  has  not  shown  itself  neces- 


32  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

sary  for  the  realization  of  the  dream  of  those  statesmen 
who  beheve  that  national  strength  lies  in  a  large  aggre- 
gate of  population.  For  example,  birth  rates  in  England, 
Sweden,  and  Belgium  are  as  low  as  death  rates  in  Hungary, 
Spain,  and  Russia.  Accordingly,  if  the  mortality  rates  of 
the  latter  countries  existed  in  the  former,  birth  rates  re- 
maining the  same,  the  growth  of  population  would  defi- 
nitely cease.  A  stationary  population  in  the  North  Euro- 
pean countries  is  avoided,  however,  by  the  low  infantile 
mortality.  Exorbitant  birth  rates  are  necessary  in  the 
countries  of  eastern  Europe  to  overcome  their  enormous 
mortality  and  provide  for  an  increase  of  population  equal 
to  that  of  the  other  countries  mentioned.  In  fact,  Eng- 
land's net  percentage  of  increase  in  population,  measured 
by  excess  of  births  over  deaths,  was  higher  during  the 
decade  1891-1900  than  that  of  Hungary  during  the  same 
period,  although  the  respective  birth  rates  were  29.9  and 
40.6  per  one  thousand  population  !  There  can  be  no  ques- 
tion but  that  lower  infantile  mortality  is  superior  to  high 
birth  rates  as  a  method  of  national  growth. 

6.  Physical  Degeneracy. 

A  final  consideration  worthy  of  notice  is  the  relation  of 
infant  and  child  mortality  to  physical  deterioration  and 
to  our  standards  of  physique.  To  this  question  no  definite 
answer  has  as  yet  been  given,  and  data  upon  the  subject 
are  too  inadequate  for  broad  and  definite  generalizations. 
The  author,  however,  views  with  impatience  the  callous- 
ness of  men  who  regard  with  favor  a  considerable  wastage 
of  child  life  because  it  accords  with  their  theory  of  the  im- 
provement of  the  human  race  through  the  operation  of  the 
law  of  natural  selection.  Beneficent  as  results  may  be  for 
the  race  of  the  future,  this  law,  unmitigated  and  untem- 
pered  by  human  hands  and  hearts,  is  harsh  and  cruel,  and 
its  operation  tends  to  debase  the  sensibilities  of  men  and  to 


GENERAL  ASPECTS  OF  TPIE  PROBLEM  33 

retard  progress.  Race  improvement  cannot  be  left  to  the 
whims  of  unconscious  nature,  and  man  can  act  less  harshly 
and  with  equal  effect  by  means  of  a  process  of  social  selec- 
tion. Instead  of  permitting  the  unfit  to  die,  the  more 
humane  and  economical  method  is  that  of  refusing  to  per- 
mit the  unfit  to  come  into  the  world.  This  avoids  the 
brutality  of  natural  selection  and  accomplishes  the  same 
result.  Standards  of  fitness  must  eventually  be  created. 
These  must  be  positive  in  character  and  independent  of 
the  caprices  of  environment.  Accordingly  they  can  not  be 
secured  through  the  operation  of  natural  selection.  Mind, 
not  matter,  and  reason,  not  instinct,  must  hereafter  direct 
our  line  of  progress. 

In  former  days  absence  of  the  physician's  conmiand  over 
life  and  death  gave  disease  and  contagion  full  sway.  Man- 
kind, therefore,  suffered  from  a  long  category  of  children's 
diseases.  Certain  races  and  peoples  have  in  this  way  pur- 
chased considerable  immunity  from  various  diseases.  The 
individuals  most  unfit  to  withstand  some  particular  disease 
were  swept  aside,  and  this  long-continued  process  of  elimi- 
nation resulted  in  strengthening  such  a  people  against 
further  attacks  of  this  disease.  A  selection  of  this  kind 
protects  against  certain  forms  of  attack  only  and  does  not 
immunize  a  people  from  other  diseases.  It  is  not  clear 
that  in  this  way  a  race  is  provided  with  the  physical  stand- 
ards best  adapted  to  the  conditions  of  modern  life.  For 
example,  the  susceptibility  of  the  Negro  to  yellow  fever 
is  unquestionably  less  than  that  of  the  white  man.  This 
comparative  immunitj^,  however,  does  not  extend  to  all 
diseases,  and  in  other  respects  the  white  man  enjoys  a  sim- 
ilar superiority.  Consequently  selection  by  disease  is  not 
an  important  cause  of  race  vigor  in  this  case.  That  is, 
iramunity  from  disease  is  not  the  chief  or  only  basis 
from  which  to  judge  physical  standards.  Actual  physical 
strength,  productive  capacity,  and  expectation  of  life  are 


34  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

the  criteria  of  fitness,  but  the  advantages  enjoyed  by  any 
single  race  are  insufficient  to  enable  it  to  gain  a  superiority 
in  all  these  respects. 

Smallpox  serves  as  an  eloquent  illustration  of  the  fact 
that  we  have  little  to  fear  from  the  elimination  of  such 
diseases.  How  brutally  selective  this  malignant  scourge 
has  been  can  be  read  in  the  history  of  its  ravages  among 
the  savage  tribes  to  which  civilization  has  introduced  it. 
Their  proneness  to  the  disease  is  due  in  part  to  their  former 
isolation  from  the  smallpox  germs.  The  determining 
question,  however,  is.  Has  the  elimination  of  the  children 
vulnerable  to  this  disease  improved  the  race  or  people 
long  subject  to  smallpox?  It  has  undoubtedly  lessened 
the  intensity  of  future  attacks  upon  the  Caucasian  race. 
For  example,  an  athletic  Indian  of  splendid  physique  may 
succumb,  while  a  diminutive  Englishman  or  American  may 
escape  with  a  slight  attack  only.  Who  then  can  measure 
the  actual  physical  gain  from  the  decimating  effects  of 
smallpox  ?  There  is  no  certainty  that  it  has  accomplished 
anything  in  that  direction  which  other  forces  would  not 
have  done  with  equal  efficiency.  So  with  the  entire  army 
of  germ  diseases.  They  have  been  selecting  for  survival 
those  most  capable  of  resisting  the  germ,  but  here  their 
labors  cease.  Being  proof  against  germs  is  not  an  inherent 
characteristic  of  good  physique.  The  two,  on  the  contrary, 
have  very  loose  connections !  The  future  will  endeavor 
to  destroy  the  germ  as  well  as  to  discover  antidotes  for  the 
disease.  If  any  deterioration  should  accompany  these 
scientific  triumphs,  the  remedy  will  consist  of  positive 
measures  to  rear  a  more  vigorous  progeny,  not  to  eliminate 
weaklings.  The  most  that  we  can  hope  to  gain  from  im- 
munity against  some  particular  germ  is  the  strengthening 
of  physique  in  a  single  particular  only.  Physical  strength 
and  bodily  vigor  will  undergo  little  change. 

Although  death  rates  may  represent  certain  forms  of 


GENERAL  ASPECTS  OF  THE  PROBLEM  35 

physiological  selection,  infant  mortality  is  hardly  a  method 
of  such  selection.  It  is  really  a  measure  of  the  depths  of 
the  ignorance  and  backwardness  of  a  civilization.  If  the 
reduction  in  infant  mortality  which  will  follow  aggressive 
social  reform  should  occasion  a  positive  loss  in  physique 
and  strength,  then  only  will  it  become  necessary  to  utilize 
positive  methods  of  selection.  Meanwhile  the  problem 
of  physical  degeneracy  need  cause  little  worry.  The  in- 
difference and  moral  obtuseness  consequent  upon  a  mis- 
understood infant  mortality  should  have  no  place  in  the 
lives  of  men  and  women.  Education  and  opportunity 
should  be  provided  for  all.  Then  only  have  we  instituted 
a  proper  system  of  social  economy. 


CHAPTER  III 

MORTALITY  RATES  IN   THE   UNITED   STATES 

General  conditions  in  the  United  States  vary  widely 
from  those  prevailing  in  Western  Europe,  and  therefore  the 
problem  of  infant  and  child  mortality  is  somewhat  different. 
Until  recently  our  population  has  been  largely  rural,  but 
with  the  development  of  urban  and  industrial  centers  and 
the  increase  of  a  wage-earning  class,  new  conditions  have 
been  thrust  upon  us.  These  conditions  are  reflected  in 
the  varied  rates  of  infant  mortality. 

1.  Rural  vs.  Urban  Mortality. 

The  first  characteristic  variation  in  infant  death  rates 
is  the  difference  between  the  mortaHty  of  rural  and  urban 
districts.  This  difference,  although  not  necessarily  inhe- 
rent, will  tend  to  persist  for  an  indefinite  length  of  time. 
The  growth  of  our  cities  has  been  so  rapid  that  they  now 
contain  more  than  one  third  of  our  entire  population.  A 
steadily  increasing  percentage  of  children  are  thus  becom- 
ing subject  to  the  higher  death  rates  of  the  cities.  City 
life  suffers  from  a  number  of  very  grave  and  almost  in- 
superable disadvantages.  Unless  the  cities  advance  very 
rapidly  in  the  reduction  of  their  infant  mortality,  they 
will  hardly  be  able  to  attain  the  low  level  of  the  rural  rates. 
For  a  long  time  to  come  children  in  the  city  must  suffer 
from  a  congestion  of  population.  A  pall  of  smoke  or  dust 
continually  hovers  over  some  cities  and  contaminates  the 
air.  The  atmosphere  is  always  more  or  less  vitiated  by 
impurities,  and  billions  of  injurious  germs  are  ever  ready 
to  destroy  human  life.  The  city  children  must  also  endure 
the  handicap  of  insufficient  light  and  sunshine.    The  salu- 

36 


MORTALITY  RATES  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES     37 

brious  effects  of  nature's  vitalizing  agencies  are  well  known, 
but  the  country  child  is  their  chief  beneficiary. 

Danger  from  contagion  is  much  more  common  in  the 
city  than  in  the  country  districts.  Even  the  most  pains- 
taldng  measures  bf  quarantine  and  isolation  will  not  ob- 
viate the  differences.  The  ebb  and  flow  of  city  popula- 
tions tends  to  perpetuate  disease  and  to  carry  it  from  place 
to  place.  From  these  dangers  the  rural  districts  are 
almost  immune.  The  cities  likewise  offer  the  lurking 
germs  a  better  opportunity  to  hide  themselves,  and  the 
squalor  and  poverty  of  the  ''other  half"  renders  them  easy 
victims  of  disease.  Federal  statistics  indicate  that  such 
children's  diseases  as  diphtheria,  measles,  scarlet  fever, 
and  the  diarrheal  diseases  are  much  more  frequent  in  the 
cities  than  elsewhere.  It  has  been  shown  that  in  Massa- 
chusetts measles  and  scarlet  fever  are  three  times  as  fre- 
quent in  the  city  as  in  the  country  districts,  and  that  in  the 
United  States  smallpox  and  diphtheria  are  twice  as  prev- 
alent in  urban  communities. 

Another  handicap  which  the  city  child  must  suffer  is 
dependence  upon  an  imported  food  supply  which  is  subject 
to  deterioration  while  en  route  to  the  city.  Especially  is 
this  true  of  milk,  from  the  bad  effects  of  which  thousands 
of  children  die  every  year,  the  immediate  cause  usually 
being  some  form  of  diarrheal  disease.  Various  contagious 
diseases  are  sometimes  traceable  to  an  infected  milk  supply. 
Bad  city  water  is  a  source  of  danger  to  thousands,  whereas 
a  single  well  or  even  a  number  of  wells  in  the  country  will 
affect  comparatively  few  people.  Urban  life,  therefore, 
is  inferior  to  rural  life  in  three  important  respects :  first, 
there  is  an  insufficiency  of  fresh  air,  of  sunlight,  and  of 
healthful  outdoor  life ;  second,  contagious  diseases  are 
more  common  and  less  easily  suppressed ;  third,  the  food 
and  drink  consumed  in  the  city  have  a  relatively  greater 
deleterious  effect. 


38 


CHILD  PROBLEMS 


The  statistical  results  of  the  differences  that  exist  are 
briefly  indicated  in  the  following  table  of  mortality.  The 
rates  for  the  diseases  specified  show  the  proportion  of 
deaths  among  100,000  children  of  the  two  age  groups  — 
under  one  and  under  five.^ 


Death  Rate  op  CmLDREN  in  Registration  States    (1900) 


Diseases 

CrriBs 

Rural  Parts 

Under  1 

Under  5 

Under  1 

Under  5 

Measles 

Scarlet  Fever     .... 
Diphtheria  and  Croup    . 
Diarrheal  Diseases     .     . 

Total  Death  Rate  of 
White  Children   .     . 

206.3 

35.1 

180.9 

4595.9 

18,410 

151.2 
80.6 
343.8 
1218 

5970 

119.3 

20.9 
99 
2576.6 

11,740 

63.4 

40 

124.6 
713.7 

3440 

The  above-mentioned  diseases  are  classed  as  children's 
diseases.  In  addition  to  these  causes  of  a  relatively  high 
urban  infant  mortaUty  may  be  mentioned  deaths  from 
premature  births,  congenital  debility,  and  similar  weak- 
nesses, which  in  the  cities  exceed  the  rural  rate  by  60  per 
cent ;  while  deaths  from  convulsions  are  50  per  cent  higher. 
The  figures  presenting  the  general  death  rate  of  children 
show  that  the  urban  mortality  is  more  than  50  per  cent 
higher  for  each  of  the  two  age  periods  than  is  the  rural 
death  rate.  Our  cities  destroy  three  children  for  every 
two  who  die  in  the  country ! 

2.  Negro  vs.  White  Death  Rates. 

A  second  variation  of  rates  is  the  difference  between 
the  death  rates  of  negro  and  of  white  children.     This 

1  Census  of  1900,  Vital  Statistics,  Part  I,  pp.  Ixxxiii  and  ff. 


MORTALITY  RATES  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES     39 

difference  is  so  wide  as  to  make  it  a  problem  of  the  utmost 
gravity  for  the  negro  race.  The  negro  possesses  certain 
constitutional  disqualifications  on  account  of  which  he 
suffers  from  a  uniformly  high  death  rate  in  every  age  period 
of  life.  Other  considerations,  however,  affect  his  vitality. 
Among  these  are  his  poverty,  ignorance,  bad  housing  con- 
ditions, sexual  excesses,  and  the  disadvantages  of  city  life. 
The  mortahty  of  negro  infants  is  more  than  twice  as  high 
as  that  of  whites,  the  rate  for  the  former  in  1900  having 
been  371.5  per  1000  children  under  one  year  of  age.  Al- 
most three  eighths  of  all  colored  children  of  this  age  group 
are  the  victims  of  disease  and  death.  In  the  country  dis- 
tricts, however,  the  rate  had  fallen  in  1900  to  the  more  ac- 
ceptable level  of  218.9  per  1000  as  compared  with  116  for 
the  whites.  Furthermore,  this  rate  is  but  little  higher  than 
was  the  total  infant  death  rate  of  all  races  in  1890.  Progress 
for  the  negro,  as  he  increases  in  intelligence,  may  therefore 
be  confidently  expected.  The  wide  disparity  between  the 
urban  and  rural  rates  is  evidence  that  his  high  mortality 
is  not  entirely  dependent  upon  heredity,  but  is  attributable 
in  large  measure  to  other  causes.  Certain  Southern  cities 
still  show  exorbitant  rates  of  mortality  for  both  colored 
and  white  children,  but  invariably  the  former  suffer  more. 
Savannah  in  1900  reported  a  death  rate  of  409.3  per  1000 
births  of  negro  children,  and  other  cities  have  closely 
followed  this  unenviable  lead. 

The  mortahty  of  colored  children  under  five  is  likewise 
enormous,  the  rate  in  1900  having  been  118.5  per  1000 
of  population  of  corresponding  age  compared  with  a  rate 
of  49.7  for  whites.  Scarlet  fever  and  diphtheria  have  been 
less  severe  in  their  attacks  upon  the  negro  child  than  on  the 
native  white,  but  the  relative  fataHties  from  the  diarrheal 
diseases  have  been  distressingly  larger,  being  almost  double 
the  already  excessively  high  white  death  rate.  A  lower 
death  rate  from  certain  diseases  clearly  indicates  the  com- 


40  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

parative  immunity  of  the  negro  race  from  those  diseases  ; 
on  the  other  hand,  higher  rates  do  not  in  themselves  prove 
a  greater  susceptibility  to  other  diseases,  because  the  pre- 
cise influence  of  inferior  social  conditions  can  not  be  deter- 
mined. The  latter  seldom  favor  the  negro  child,  who,  if 
he  refuses  to  succumb  to  disease,  clearly  demonstrates 
superior  resisting  power. 

3.  Differences  among  Cities. 

Our  cities  differ  widely  among  themselves  in  regard  to 
the  relative  healthfulness  of  their  children.  This  disparity 
is  only  in  part  due  to  the  inherent  advantages  of  one  city 
over  another.  Natural  climatic  conditions,  however,  lie 
at  the  base  of  the  intrinsic  differences  that  exist.  A  first 
group  of  cities,  including  especially  those  located  in  the 
Northwest,  have  an  infant  mortality  of  about  100  per  1000 
of  population  under  one  year  of  age  —  a  rate  which  for  a 
considerable  time  to  come  cannot  be  approximated  by  the 
majority  of  American  cities.  Good  climate  as  well  as  a 
diminutive  slum  population  partly  account  for  this  advan- 
tage. Another  group  of  cities  suffers  from  a  rate  ranging 
from  150  to  180.  This  includes  a  majority  of  the  large 
cities  of  the  East.  But  many  cities  in  the  South  and 
Southwest  fall  within  this  group.  A  third  class  consists 
of  the  distinctively  unhealthful  cities,  which  have  an  infant 
death  rate  in  excess  of  200  and  therefore  present  the  most 
serious  problem  in  respect  to  the  saving  of  child  lives. 
Excessive  heat  in  summer,  malarial  conditions,  and  diffi- 
culty in  obtaining  good  water  are  the  chief  causes  of  this 
excessive  rate  of  mortality.  Controllable  causes,  such  as 
bad  housing  conditions,  ignorance,  and  poor  food,  are  ad- 
ditional causes  which  these  cities  must  first  overcome 
before  their  child  mortality  can  be  lessened.  These  wide 
variations  in  cities  are  brought  about  largely  by  environ- 


MORTALITY  RATES  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES     41 

mental  differences,  and  therefore  the  establishment  of  reme- 
dial agencies  will  tend  to  cause  a  convergence  of  rates, 
the  lower  limit  of  which  will  be  measured  by  the  healthful 
cities.  In  the  majority  of  all  instances  present  mortahty 
rates  can  still  be  reduced  to  much  lower  figures. 

4.  Differences  based  upon  Social  and  Industrial 
Conditions. 

The  difference  between  good  and  bad  social  and  indus- 
trial conditions  is  roughly  measured  by  the  difference  be- 
tween intelligent  care  and  neglect  of  children.  The  infant 
mortality  in  our  slum  sections  and  industrial  centers  is 
almost  invariably  larger  than  that  in  the  other  parts  of  our 
cities,  the  conspicuous  exception  to  this  rule  being  the  low 
mortality  of  Jewish  children,  in  spite  of  their  life  in  the 
slums  and  among  almost  intolerable  conditions.  Indus- 
trial cities  are  prone  to  develop  conditions  inimical  to  child 
life.  Frequently  the  number  of  married  women  employed 
is  so  large  as  to  affect  vitally  the  degree  of  care  which  can 
be  bestowed  upon  the  child.  The  large  factory  towns  of 
New  England  are  conspicuous  examples.  A  considerable 
foreign  population  has  entered  the  manufacturing  estabhsh- 
ments  there,  women  are  employed  in  large  numbers  in  the 
mills,  and  consequently  many  children  are  neglected.  In 
Massachusetts  the  infant  mortality  of  the  industrial  cen- 
ters where  tenement  houses  are  common,  as  in  Fall  River, 
is  more  than  twice  as  large  as  that  of  the  residential  towns. 
Cities  in  which  mixed  conditions  prevail  show  a  propor- 
tionate mortality,  the  rates  declining  as  residential  features 
gain  in  comparative  importance.  Cholera  infantum  has 
been  shown  to  have  a  direct  relation  to  the  number  of 
married  women  employed  away  from  home.  The  number 
of  deaths  from  the  diarrheal  diseases  in  the  industrial  sec- 
tions is  appalling  and  must  be  definitely  attributed  to  the 


42  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

gross  neglect  of  the  children  by  their  hard-working  parents. 
The  misery  of  the  slum  is  a  well-known  fact.  The  poor 
districts  of  a  city  suffer  from  the  excessive  infant  mortality 
imposed  upon  them  by  their  surroundings.  In  Chicago, 
for  instance,  the  Stockyards  section  is  hopelessly  inferior 
to  a  residence  section  such  as  Hyde  Park.  Milwaukee 
also  clearly  illustrates  this  aspect  of  the  problem.  Two 
specified  wards  of  the  city  each  contain  a  characteristic 
population,  the  one  is  a  slum,  the  other  an  aristocratic 
section.  The  total  population  of  the  two  is  almost  equal, 
but  in  the  one  the  birth  rate  is  59  per  cent  higher  than  in 
the  other.  When  relative  death  rates  among  infants  are 
compared,  the  first  ward  exceeds  the  other  by  nearly  250 
per  cent !  The  disproportion  for  children  between  one  and 
.five  years  of  age  is  still  greater.  The  slum  ward,  therefore, 
in  spite  of  its  high  birth  rate,  is  unable  to  increase  its  popu- 
lation as  rapidly  as  does  the  aristocratic  ward. 

The  laboring  classes  suffer  from  a  much  higher  infant 
mortality  than  do  the  salaried  and  professional  classes.^ 
Some  years  ago  "Wolf  presented  statistics  for  Erfurt,  Ger- 
many, which  indicated  that  505  out  of  every  1000  infants 
died  among  the  working  classes;  that  the  relative  mor- 
tality among  the  middle  classes  was  173  ;  that  among  the 
rich  it  was  only  89.  The  principal  cause  of  this  lower  rate 
among  the  wealthy  was  their  greater  capacity  to  care  for 
their  children  in  the  right  way.  In  the  United  States,  how- 
ever, differences  are  less  accentuated.  Nevertheless  the 
conditions  of  environment  can  be  made  uniformly  superior 
for  the  child  of  wealthy  parents ;  the  housing  is  better,  the 
food  is  more  adaptable,  a  physician  is  always  procurable, 
detailed  care  can  be  given,  and  disease  can  be  more  suc- 
cessfully combated.  The  proportion  of  wealthy  children 
dying  from  measles  and  summer  complaint  is  comparatively 
small.     The  higher  mortaUty  among  the  children  of  the 

^See  Spargo,  The  Bitter  Cry  of  the  Children,  p.  7. 


MORTALITY  RATES  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES     43 

working  classes  is  due  to  the  absence  of  these  advantages. 
Even  where  women  are  not  compelled  to  work  away  from 
home,  other  handicaps  often  exist.  But  when  the  mother 
must  enter  the  gainful  occupations,  the  situation  is  well- 
nigh  hopeless.  In  several  European  countries  the  agricul- 
tural districts  suffer  from  very  high  infant  death  rates, 
which  are  mainly  due  to  the  enforced  absence  of  the  mother 
from  the  home.  Home  conditions  must  suffer  when  the 
mother  is  compelled  to  spend  her  time  in  the  fields. 

5.  Reasonable  Rates  of  Mortality. 

The  gravity  of  the  problem  in  the  United  States  is  meas- 
ured by  the  difference  between  the  actual  and  a  reasonable 
infant  mortahty.  Social  progress  demands  that  the  rate  be 
reduced  to  the  lowest  minimum  consistent  with  the  physi- 
cal welfare  of  the  people.  There  is  a  limit  below  which 
the  reduction  of  infant  mortality  would  only  result  in  an 
increase  of  the  death  rate  throughout  the  childhood  period, 
or  in  the  preservation  to  adult  years  of  men  and  women 
doomed  to  early  death  on  account  of  constitutional  weak- 
nesses. The  saving  of  weaklings  may  be  of  doubtful  bene- 
fit to  society,  yet  social  progress  should  be  possible  without 
the  sacrifice  of  child  lives.  The  present  problem  consists 
in  reducing  the  infant  mortality  to  the  lowest  point  which 
enlightened  civilization  can  accomplish.  The  reasonable 
bed  rock  is  far  from  present  attainment.  Experiments  in 
limited  areas  where  exceptional  care  could  be  given  to  chil- 
dren have  resulted  in  remarkable  reductions  of  the  infant 
mortality.  Because  such  experiments  are  necessarily  local, 
the  death  rates  which  are  attained  represent  a  figure  lower 
than  the  average  to  which  general  rates  can  be  reduced  for 
a  considerable  time  to  come.  A  mortality  of  100  per  1000 
under  one  year  is,  however,  a  goal  which  all  large  cities 
should  set  for  themselves,  and  the  better  situated  cities  of 


44  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

the  West  should  establish  a  still  lower  level  as  a  standard. 
Conditions  should  not  require  the  loss  of  more  than  one 
out  of  every  ten  infants  during  the  first  year  of  life.  A 
mortality  of  10  per  cent  may  be  regarded  as  reasonable 
for  the  larger  cities  of  to-day.  In  the  smaller  towns  and 
in  the  rural  districts,  where  there  is  less  poverty  and  where 
a  greater  salubrity  prevails,  infant  death  rates  ought  to  be 
less  than  8  per  cent.  These  limits  should  not  be  considered 
as  permanent  ones,  as  a  much  lower  rate  can  be  realized 
before  society  will  suffer  physically  from  this  cause.  When 
the  rates  mentioned  have  been  reached,  enough  general 
progress  will  have  been  made  to  justify  the  establishment 
of  still  lower  limits.  The  gradual  change  in  the  environ- 
ment and  the  better  care  of  infants  are  important  factors, 
the  influence  of  which  will  then  determine  the  newly  attain- 
able level  of  infant  mortality. 

6.   General  Rates  in  the  United  States.^ 

In  order  to  show  how  far  the  United  States  falls  short 
of  reasonable  rates  of  infant  and  child  mortality  the  follow- 
ing statistics  are  presented  :  ^  — 

1  The  infant  and  child  mortality  of  any  district  may  be  indicated  in 
two  ways :  — 

First,  the  total  mortality  per  1000  children  of  a  given  age  may  be 
specified.  This  method  of  comparison  permits  an  exact  determination  of 
the  proportion  of  loss,  provided  that  accurate  birth  statistics  are  at  hand. 
The  aggregate  shrinkage  is  the  more  important  question,  and  therefore 
this  method  is  the  correct  one  to  use  in  comparing  the  net  gain  and  loss 
to  child  life  both  as  to  time  and  to  space.  Standard  death  rates  are 
important  as  an  index  to  general  social  conditions. 

Second,  the  relation  of  infant  mortality  to  total  mortality  may  be 
considered.  The  smaller  the  proportion  of  the  former  the  more  favor- 
able are  the  conditions  of  environment.  As  child  life  is  more  susceptible 
to  disease  than  is  the  adult,  a  relative  decline  in  infant  mortality  is  a 
favorable  indication.  This  method  of  computation,  however,  only  re- 
lates the  comparative  death  rate  of  one  period  to  that  of  another  and 
does  not  show  the  changes  in  the  level  of  the  death  rates  themselves. 

*  Census  of  1900,  Vital  Statistics,  Part  I,  p.  Ixxxii. 


MORTALITY  RATES  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES     45 


Deaths  in  Registration  Area  per  1000  of  Population 
OF  Corresponding  Ages  (1900) 


Under  one  Year 

Under  Five  Years 

Color  and 
Nativitt 

Total 

Cities 

Rural 
Part  of 
Registra- 
tion 
States 

Total 

Cities 

Rural 
Part  of 
Registra- 
tion 
States 

Aggregate  .     . 

165.4 

179.9 

117.4 

52.1 

57.6 

34.4 

White    .     .     . 

158 

171.1 

116 

49.7 

54.8 

34 

Native  .     .     . 

158 

171.2 

116 

50 

55.1 

34.1 

Foreign       .     . 

149 

159.9 

114.6 

34.7 

36.8 

27.1 

Colored       .     . 

371.5 

387 

218.9 

118.5 

123.6 

67 

A  most  significant  change  has  occurred  since  1890.  In 
that  year  the  mortality  of  infants  was  205.8.  During  the 
following  decade  there  occurred  a  decline  of  about  20  per 
cent.  The  rates  for  children  under  five  fell  from  66.8  in 
1890  to  52.1  in  1900,  and,  while  in  the  former  year  389  out 
of  every  1000  children  died  before  reaching  the  fifteenth 
year  of  life,  in  1900  the  number  had  fallen  to  303,  thus 
insuring  a  noteworthy  increase  in  the  number  of  persons 
surviving  to  an  age  of  economic  usefulness.  This  decline 
has  not  been  general,  and  many  localities  have  failed  to 
participate  in  the  gain.  Massachusetts  reported  a  higher 
infant  mortality  in  1900  than  during  the  decade  which 
included  the  Civil  War,  but  its  rates  for  children  under 
five  had  slightly  decreased.  Since  1900  considerable  prog- 
ress has  been  made.  The  development  of  urban  and  in- 
dustrial conditions,  however,  has  been  a  prime  factor  in  the 
failure  of  many  cities  to  lower  their  rates.  Providence, 
Rhode  Island,  increased  its  infant  mortality  from  122  per 
1000  births  in  the  period  1856-1860  to  158  in  the  period 
1901-1905,  and  this  has  occurred  in  spite  of  many  efforts 
to  check  the  increasing  death  rate. 


46 


CHILD  PROBLEMS 


A  few  figures  showing  the  change  in  the  proportion  of 
infant  and  child  mortahty  for  the  registration  area  and  for 
selected  cities  therein  have  positive  value  as  an  indication  of 
existing  conditions. 

Pbopobtion  of  Infant  and  Child  Mortality  to  Total  Mortality 
(in  percentages) 


1880 

1890 

1900 

1905 

1908 

District 

Un- 
der 
1 

Un- 
der 
5 

Un- 
der 
1 

Un- 
der 
6 

Un- 
der 
1 

Un- 
der 
5 

Un- 
der 

1 

Un- 
der 
5 

Un- 
der 

1 

Un- 
der 
5 

Reg.  Area    .    . 









20.60 

30.04 

19.30 

27.00 

19.70 

27.50 

Chicago  .    .     . 

30.08 

53.90 

30.33 

45.22 

21.41 

33.21 

21.43 

31.28 

22.70 

31.80 

New  York  (old) 

27.00 

45.90 

25.30 

40.64 

23.02 

36.40 

22.80 

33.80 

22.70 

33.60 

Philadelphia    . 

— 

38.53 

— 

36.40 

— 

32.21 

21.40 

28.10 

20.80 

30.00 

Providence 

18.41 

37.30 

19.00 

32.24 

22.11 

32.62 

19.60 

27.60 

21.70 

30.80 

This  table  indicates  that  a  substantial  reduction  in  the 
proportion  of  child  mortality  has  taken  place  even  in  the 
large  cities,  but  it  is  also  apparent  that  the  decrease  is  more 
marked  for  children  under  five  than  for  infants  —  a  fact 
which  proves  that  the  health  problems  of  the  latter  have 
not  yet  received  sufficient  attention,  for  we  now  know  that 
this  mortality  can  be  decreased.  Throughout  the  period 
covered  in  the  above  table  general  death  rates  have  de- 
creased; accordingly  any  decline  in  the  proportionate  mor- 
tality of  children  represents  a  considerable  gain.  The 
most  remarkable  instance  of  American  success  in  reducing 
infant  mortality  rates  is  furnished  by  the  city  of  Rochester, 
New  York.  An  account  of  this  work  is  given  in  a  subse- 
quent chapter. 

7.   Estimate  of  Preventable  Deaths. 

In  1900  the  number  of  deaths  of  children  under  five  years 
of  age  in  the  United  States  was  317,532,  or  30.5  per  cent 


MORTALITY  RATES  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES     47 

of  all  deaths.  The  total  deaths  under  one  were  199,325, 
or  19  per  cent  of  the  mortality  at  all  ages.  In  1905  the 
registration  area  showed  an  aggregate  of  deaths  almost 
identical  with  its  record  of  1900.  The  more  satisfactory 
records  of  1908  show  that  189,865  children  under  five  years 
of  age  died  in  that  year  in  the  registration  area.  If  similar 
proportions  were  maintained  throughout  the  United  States, 
the  loss  to  the  country  must  have  been  more  than  366,000 
children,  of  whom  over  100,000  were  above  one  year  but 
less  than  five.  These  children  were  therefore  beyond  the 
age  when  constitutional  diseases  destroy  them,  and  had 
successfully  passed  through  the  period  when  the  weak 
and  unfit  are  ehminated.  The  death  of  these  children  is 
an  evidence  of  the  gravest  social  neglect.^ 

If  the  rate  of  infant  mortality  in  the  rural  districts  of  the 
registration  area  in  1900  had  been  general  throughout  this 
area,  the  number  of  deaths  would  have  fallen  from  102,220 
to  about  72,300,  or  a  gain  of  nearly  30,000  infants,  while 
the  gain  for  the  entire  United  States  would  have  reached 
a  total  of  59,000.  For  children  under  five  the  rural  rate 
was  one  third  less  than  the  general  rate,  and  its  application 
to  the  entire  country  would  result  in  a  constructive  saving 
of  105,000  lives  to  the  United  States  every  year.  The 
births  during  the  census  year  of  1900  were  2,063,386  infants, 


1  Professor  Irving  Fisher  of  Yale  University  has  computed  the  fol- 
lowing ratio  of  preventability  of  deaths  from  certain  diseases  in  which 
the  median  age  at  death  is  under  five.  Premature  birth,  40  per  cent ; 
congenital  debility,  40  ;  diarrhea  and  enteritis,  60 ;  measles,  40 ;  broncho- 
pneumonia, 50 ;  whooping  cough,  40  ;  meningitis,  70  ;  diphtheria,  70 ; 
croup,  75.  He  concludes  that  of  all  diseases  in  which  the  median  age 
is  one  year  the  percentage  of  preventability  is  47  and  of  other  diseases 
of  childhood  is  67.  Applied  to  our  present  infant  and  child  mortality 
these  percentages  would  result  in  a  saving  of  about  200,000  children 
to  the  United  States  every  year. 

See  Bulletin  of  the  Committee  of  One  Hundred  on  National  Health. 
Report  on  National  Vitality,  its  Waste  and  Conservation,  by  Professor 
Irving  Fisher. 


48  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

and  the  saving  would  be  equivalent  to  a  change  of  5  per 
cent  in  the  birth  rate.  Even  the  rural  death  rates  are  un- 
reasonably high,  so  the  total  saving  of  lives  measured  by 
a  fair  standard  should  be  considerably  more.  At  least 
40  per  cent  of  the  infant  mortality,  and  a  still  larger  pro- 
portion of  the  deaths  under  five  years  of  age  should  be  re- 
garded as  unnecessary  and  therefore  strictly  preventable. 
Positive  means  should  immediately  be  enacted  to  eliminate 
this  useless  and  costly  waste  of  human  life  and  of  physical 
and  social  energy.  The  net  saving  which  would  result 
from  such  a  decrease  of  mortality  would  approximate 
150,000  child  lives  annually.  Surely  this  constitutes  one 
of  the  gravest  child  problems  of  the  day. 


CHAPTER  IV 


1.  Specific  Diseases. 

Children  are  particularly  susceptible  to  certain  diseases, 
and  therefore  the  average  age  at  death  of  persons  dying 
from  these  diseases  is  comparatively  low.  The  term 
"children's  diseases"  may  therefore  be  properly  apphed 
to  a  number  of  such  affections,  of  which  the  following  are 
the  principal  ones  :  — 

CmLDREN's  Diseases  and  Average  Age  at  Death 
Census  of  1900 


Disease 


Average  Age  at 
Death 


Diphtheria  .  .  . 
Measles  .... 
Scarlet  Fever  .  . 
Croup  .... 
Whooping  Cough  . 
Diarrheal  Diseases 
Smallpox      .     .     . 


Years 

5.8 
4.4 
5.9 
5.4 
1.8 
12.3 
27.9 


Smallpox,  as  the  table  shows,  is  no  longer  a  disease  of 

childhood,  but  has  been  included  because  it  formerly  ranked 

as  such.     The  change  is  not  due  to  the  nature  of  the  disease 

but  to  the  splendid  achievements  of  medical  science,  which 

B  49 


50 


CHILD  PROBLEMS 


has  almost  exterminated  it.  Vaccination  has  rendered 
the  child  comparatively  immune,  and  adults  now  suffer  as 
frequently  as  do  the  children.  Medicine  will,  it  is  hoped, 
accomplish  equally  successful  results  for  the  other  diseases 
of  childhood. 

a.   Diphtheria. 

This  disease  has  been  the  terror  of  childhood  since  the 
virtual  elimination  of  smallpox.  It  is  an  extremely 
malignant  disease,  and  the  case  fatality  has  reflected  its 
persistent  virulence.  The  remarkable  change,  however, 
which  medicine  has  accomplished  since  1890  is  shown  by 
the  following  table  of  case  fatalities. 


Case  Fatality 

FROM 

Diphtheria  ^    (In  percentages) 

Year 

Case  Fatality 

New  York  City 
(Old) 

Brooklyn 

1891 
1894 
1895 

36.5 
30.0 
18.5 

63.6 

45.0 
31.0 

1900 

15.5 

22.5 

1903 

10.5 

15.6 

In  every  large  city  significant  changes  in  favor  of  lower 
rates  have  occurred  since  1895,  when  the  use  of  antitoxin 
was  introduced.  Formerly  the  case  fatality  from  diph- 
theria was  uniformly  high,  having  reached  a  maximum 
of  74  per  cent  in  Baltimore  in  1894.  The  change  since 
1895  has  been  permanent  and  decisive,  and  has  robbed  the 
disease  of  its  ancient  terrors.  During  the  decade  1897- 
1906  the  case  fatality  in  Chicago  from  cases  treated  with 
antitoxin  by  the  bureau  of  health  was  only  6.5  per  cent. 

1  Report  of  the  Department  of  Health,  City  of  New  York,  1904,  Vol.  I, 
p.  294  £f. 


CHILDREN'S  DISEASES  51 

The  experience  of  this  city  also  illustrates  the  advantage 
of  eariy  treatment  of  the  disease.  The  results  from  the 
treatment  of  8372  cases  during  the  period  given  above 
show  that  if  the  administration  of  antitoxin  occurred  on 
the  first  day  of  the  disease  the  rate  of  mortality  was  .32 
per  cent;  if  on  the  second  day,  1.51  per  cent;  if  on  the 
third  day,  3.38  per  cent ;  if  on  the  fourth,  11.15  per  cent ; 
but  if  antitoxin  was  not  used  until  a  later  day,  the  rate  rose 
to  22.01  per  cent.^  Furthermore,  during  this  period  more 
than  9000  persons  who  had  been  exposed  to  the  disease 
were  treated  with  immunizing  doses  of  antitoxin,  and  of 
these  persons  only  51  afterwards  contracted  the  disease, 
all  of  whom  subsequently  recovered.  The  scourge  of 
diphtheria  now  rests  lightly  upon  the  child. 

The  steps  taken  to  save  the  children  from  this  disease 
are  the  following  :  — 

First,  the  establishment  of  a  rigid  quarantine,  and  in 
the  larger  cities  of  medical  inspection  in  the  schools  by 
means  of  which  many  incipient  cases  of  diphtheria  are  dis- 
covered. The  rates  of  morbidity  are  therefore  consid- 
erably decreased. 

Second,  a  bacteriological  diagnosis  of  the  case.  New 
York  City  began  this  in  the  year  1892,  and  accomplished 
good  results  through  the  exercise  of  this  precaution. 

Third,  the  extensive  use  of  antitoxin.  This  has  saved 
thousands  of  Hves.  The  effectiveness  of  the  virus  is  evi- 
dent from  the  work  done  in  the  tenement  house  districts 
of  New  York  City,  where  the  case  fatality  in  1903  among 
the  poor  who  were  treated  free  of  charge  by  the  health 
officials  was  only  5.7  per  cent,  as  compared  with  an  average 
of  10.5  per  cent  for  the  entire  city.  The  existence  of  this 
remedy  has  lessened  the  tendency  of  many  parents  to  con- 
ceal the  fact  that  some  of  their  children  were  suffering  from 
the  disease.     The  serum  is  still  rather  costly,  and  the  poor 

1  Report  of  the  Department  of  Health,  Chicago,  1906,  p.  129. 


52  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

are  unable  to  pay  for  its  use,  but  all  of  the  large  cities  have 
liberally  provided  for  the  free  distribution  of  antitoxin 
to  those  unable  to  engage  the  services  of  a  physician  directly, 
and  private  charity  has  provided  adequate  hospital  room. 
Accordingly  no  one  need  forego  the  enlightened  treatment 
which  present  day  advancement  affords.  Undue  caution, 
however,  frequently  results  in  a  tardy  diagnosis,  with  con- 
sequent disaster  to  the  child. 

Fourth,  the  tracing  of  the  contagion  to  the  place  of  origin 
and  ascertaining  its  communicating  medium.  Bad  milk, 
sweat-shop  goods,  unclean  food,  and  other  agencies  which 
carry  the  disease  are  being  more  carefully  inspected  than 
formerly.  In  many  cities  pasteurization  has  acted  as  a 
deterrent.  In  the  city  of  Washington,  the  prevalence  of 
diphtheria  has  declined,  owing  largely  to  this  method  of 
caring  for  milk.  Pure  food  laws  and  inspection  of  goods 
made  in  tenements  have  also  attacked  the  disease  at  its 
sources  and  decreased  the  danger  of  contagion. 

Climatic  and  racial  conditions  influence  the  prevalence 
of  diphtheria.  It  is  a  winter  disease,  and  comparatively 
low  rates  of  mortality  prevail  during  the  summer  months. 
The  negro  child  enjoys  a  somewhat  greater  immunity  from 
the  disease  than  does  the  white  child.  Owing  to  these 
differences,  the  children  of  the  South  suffer  less  from  this 
ailment  than  do  children  in  the  remainder  of  the  United 
States.  In  European  countries  rates  do  not  differ  mate- 
rially from  the  ones  prevailing  here,  and  the  use  of  anti- 
toxin is  working  similar  results. 

b.   Measles  and  Scarlet  Fever. 

Although  less  dangerous  than  diphtheria,  measles  and 
scarlet  fever  are  extremely  contagious.  Science  has  as  yet 
discovered  no  specific  for  them,  and  victims  must  rely  upon 
the  old  methods  of  treatment.  The  case  fatality  is  less, 
but  the  net  mortality  greater,  from  measles  than  from 
scarlet  fever.     The  former  is  especially  fatal  during  the 


CHILDREN'S  DISEASES  53 

second  year  of  life,  while  a  greater  percentage  of  fatalities 
occurs  from  scarlet  fever  during  the  third  and  fourth  years. 
The  first  four  months  of  the  year  are  most  fatal  for  this 
disease,  while  the  greatest  mortality  from  measles  occurs 
from  February  to  May.  The  number  of  cases  of  the  latter 
disease  fluctuates  widely  from  year  to  year,  with  a  general 
downward  tendency.  In  New  York  City  waves  of  inci- 
dence seem  to  appear  every  second  year.  Since  the  disease 
has  been  quarantined  and  the  use  of  fumigation  employed, 
a  favorable  decline  has  occurred.  Cities  still  suffer  dis- 
proportionately, and  far  exceed  the  rural  districts  in  their 
fatalities.  The  disease  could  be  more  effectively  checked 
but  for  the  attitude  of  many  mothers,  who  regard  measles 
as  an  unavoidable  disease  and  who  permit  their  children 
to  be  exposed  to  it.  Wage-earning  mothers  frequently  hide 
the  fact  from  the  health  officials,  and  so  evade  quarantine. 
Scarlet  fever  is  practically  unknown  in  those  countries, 
such  as  Japan,  that  do  not  use  cow's  milk  as  food ;  it  is 
therefore  probable  that  a  close  relation  exists  between  the 
use  of  the  milk  and  the  disease.  The  elimination  of  the 
disease  consequently  depends  largely  upon  the  purification 
of  the  milk  supply.  An  epidemic  has  on  several  occasions 
been  traced  to  a  dairy  farm  where  victims  of  the  fever 
have  infected  the  milk.  Buffalo,  Chicago,  and  other  cities 
have  endeavored  to  prevent  the  disease  by  attempting  to 
discover  its  source.  The  scarlet  fever  germ  will  lie  dor- 
mant for  years  and  then  infect  through  contact  with  the 
individual.  More  easily  than  any  other  malignant  disease 
can  it  be  carried  about  by  old  or  exposed  clothes,  and  pre- 
cautionary methods  are  therefore  very  necessary.  The 
poor  and  constitutionally  weak  are  more  prone  to  succumb 
to  this  disease  than  the  strong  and  well-fed,  since  the  former 
have  less  vital  power  of  resistance.  Better  nutrition, 
sufficient  food,  and  more  adequate  care  of  the  young  are 
needed  to  resist  attacks  of  the  fever. 


54  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

c.  Whooping  Cough  and  Bronchitis. 

Whooping  cough  is  decidedly  a  disease  of  infancy.  More 
than  one  half  of  the  deaths  from  this  disease  occur  during 
the  first  year  of  life,  and  very  few  after  the  fifth  year.  The 
rural  rates  are  but  little  lower  than  those  of  the  cities,  but 
the  American  mortality  from  this  cause  is  hardly  one  half 
that  of  England  or  Germany.  Epidemics  in  our  cities, 
however,  sometimes  continue  for  several  years  and  occasion 
a  heavy  mortality,  although  the  disease  is  not  commonly 
considered  dangerous.  Whooping  cough  is  most  common 
during  the  summer  and  autumn  months. 

Bronchitis  is  a  disease  of  childhood  as  well  as  of  old  age. 
About  one  third  of  all  deaths  from  this  cause  occur  during 
the  first  year  of  life ;  one  half  take  place  in  the  first  five- 
year  period,  and  nearly  all  of  the  remainder  occur  after  the 
forty-fifth  year.  Here  again  the  rural  districts  show 
lower  rates  than  do  the  cities,  but  the  difference  is  not  a 
marked  one.  The  total  death  rates  from  either  bronchitis 
or  pneumonia  are  much  higher  than  the  rates  for  measles, 
scarlet  fever,  or  whooping  cough.  The  winter  months 
are  especially  favorable  to  a  high  mortality  from  these 
respiratory  diseases.  Ignorance,  exposure,  and  lack  of 
care  are  fruitful  causes  of  the  heavy  death  rate  which 
they  occasion. 

d.  Diseases  of  the  Digestive  System. 

The  most  deadly  of  all  diseases  of  infancy  and  childhood 
are  the  various  forms  of  acute  intestinal  diseases,  including 
diarrhea  and  enteritis,  cholera  infantum  being  classed  under 
enteritis.  The  problem  of  infant  mortality  has  received 
but  little  attention  in  those  cities  in  which  no  decline  in 
the  death  rates  from  these  diseases  has  been  recorded. 
Effective  work  in  saving  child  lives  is  largely  measured  by 
the  success  attained  in  decreasing  the  mortality  from  the 
diseases  of  the  digestive  system.  Success  in  this  respect 
indicates  a  high-water  mark  in  the  history  of  preventive 


CHILDREN'S  DISEASES 


55 


work.      The  following  table  illustrates  the  situation  in 
the  registration  area  of  the  United  States  :  ^  — 

Deaths  from  Diarrhea  and  Enteritis  per  100,000  op 
Population 


Area 


Registration  Area 

Registration  Cities 

Registration  States 

Cities  in  Registration  States  .  .  . 
Rural  Part  of  Registration  States  . 
Registration  Cities  in  other  States  . 


Average 
1900-1904 


112.8 
126.0 
113.4 
139.9 
80.3 
111.8 


1C05 


116.7 
128.5 
117.3 
141.1 
86.1 
115.6 


1908 


116.0 
128.0 
116.2 
133.5 
96.9 
114.6 


More  than  40,000  children  die  annually  in  the  registra- 
tion area  from  these  diseases,  and  the  aggregate  mortality 
for  the  United  States  approximates  about  twice  this  num- 
ber, or  three  times  the  number  of  deaths  from  diphtheria 
and  croup.  About  four  fifths  of  these  deaths,  however, 
occur  during  the  first  year  of  life.  The  urban  rate  ranges 
from  33^  to  50  per  cent  higher  than  the  rural  rate,  and  the 
industrial  cities  show  a  distinctively  heavy  mortality.  In 
recent  years  the  rate  throughout  the  registration  area  has 
fluctuated  but  slightly,  the  year  1905  marking  a  high  point, 
and  1908  showing  a  small  decline.  Many  individual  cities 
have,  on  the  other  hand,  successfully  reduced  their  mor- 
tality from  the  intestinal  diseases.  Among  cities  having 
a  population  of  more  than  100,000,  Fall  River,  Massachu- 
setts, reported  the  highest  rate  in  1908,  its  mortality  being 
380.1  per  100,000  of  population,  or  nearly  three  times  the 

1  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Census.     Mortality  Statistics,  1900-1904,  1905,  1908. 

Although  the  above  table  represents  death  rates  on  the  basis  of  the 
population  at  all  ages,  85  per  cent  of  the  deaths  occur  among  children 
under  two  years  of  age. 


56 


CHILD  PROBLEMS 


average  rate  for  the  registration  cities.  Local  social  and 
industrial  conditions  are  largely  responsible  for  this  fact. 
In  manufacturing  cities  the  rates  tend  to  remain  stationary, 
although  several  exceptions  occur.  Several  large  cities 
have,  however,  in  spite  of  the  difficulties  attending  the 
work,  succeeded  in  reducing  the  mortality  from  the  diar- 
rheal diseases.  New  York  City  (old)  annually  contributes 
between  three  and  four  thousand  children  under  five  years 
of  age  to  the  mortality  from  this  group  of  diseases.  Still 
the  absolute  number  of  deaths  has  remained  almost  sta- 
tionary, and  the  rate  has  decreased  considerably  since  1895, 
when  a  decided  fall  in  the  mortality  from  this  source  took 
place.  Chicago  has  shown  a  decline  in  the  following  re- 
spects: the  rate  of  mortality  from  these  diseases,  the  total 
number  of  such  deaths,  and  the  proportion  of  all  mortality 
due  to  these  causes. 

The  distribution  of  these  diseases  throughout  the  differ- 
ent months  of  the  year  is  most  significant.  In  no  other  case 
does  the  death  rate  vary  so  heavily  from  season  to  season. 
The  predominating  influence  of  weather  conditions  as  a 
cause  of  the  violent  fluctuations  in  rates  is  therefore  at 
once  apparent.  The  following  table  shows  the  propor- 
tion of  deaths  each  month  of  the  year,  according  to  figures 


Proportion  of  Deaths  from  Diarrhea  and  Enteritis 
(Base  =  1000) 


Months 

Proportion 

Months 

Proportion 

January    .... 
February       .     .     . 
March       .... 

April 

May 

June 

29.2 
27.4 
30.8 
32.7 
39.6 
74.6 

July    .... 

August    .     .     . 
September    .     . 
October    .     .     . 
November    .     . 
December     .     . 

231.2 

230.1 

158.8 
78.5 
37.5 
29.6 

CHILDREN'S  DISEASES  57 

based  on  the  mortality  in  the  registration  area  of  the  United 
States  during  the  years  1900-1904/ 

This  table  shows  that  during  the  winter  and  spring 
months  the  mortality  is  very  low,  and  that  few  or  no  epi- 
demics of  these  diseases  exist.  On  the  other  hand,  the  three 
months  of  July,  August,  and  September  witness  more  than 
three  fifths  of  the  entire  number  of  deaths.  The  first  two 
are  the  hottest  months  of  the  year,  and  a  clear  relation 
between  heat  and  the  prevalence  of  the  diarrheal  diseases 
is  thus  indicated.  The  heat,  however,  acts  indirectly  by 
hastening  the  growth  of  harmful  bacteria  in  the  milk,  and 
these  in  turn  cause  disease.  No  other  phase  of  infant  mor- 
tality offers  so  large  a  field  for  the  work  of  the  physician 
and  the  philanthropist. 

e.  Prematurity. 

A  large  group  of  children  die  annually  from  the  diseases 
of  early  infancy.  .  Premature  birth  and  congenital  debility 
fall  within  this  group.  Thirty-two  thousand  two  hundred 
and  seventy-four  infants  died  from  this  class  of  diseases 
in  the  registration  area  in  1908.  If  the  same  rate  of  mor- 
tality prevailed  throughout  the  United  States,  the  total 
deaths  would  exceed  62,000.  That  this  large  mortality 
does  not  entirely  depend  on  purely  hereditary  causes  is 
proven  by  the  wide  differences  existing  between  urban  and 
rural  rates,  the  latter  being  only  73  per  cent  of  the  former. 
The  death  rate  in  the  United  States  is  a  fluctuating  one, 
and  shows  no  pronounced  tendency  either  upward  or  down- 
ward. In  England,  on  the  other  hand,  the  death  rate  from 
this  source  is  not  only  higher  than  here,  but  the  rate  has 
been  increasing  and  is  a  cause  of  grave  concern  to  the  Eng- 
lish people. 

/.   Convulsions  and  Meningitis. 

Convulsions  are  specially  fatal  to  infants  and  are  annually 
responsible  for  about  7000  to  8000  deaths  in  the  registra- 

1  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Census,  Mortality  Statistics,  1900-1904. 


58 


CHILD  PROBLEMS 


tion  area,  and  of  probably  15,000  throughout  the  entire 
country.  Although  classified  among  the  diseases  of  the 
nervous  system,  '' convulsions"  is  a  loose  and  indefinite 
term.  The  symptoms  are  often  remotely  connected  with 
the  diseases  of  the  digestive  system.  Another  ailment 
which  is  especially  fatal  to  children  is  meningitis.  This 
disease  destroys  nearly  as  many  persons  under  five  years 
of  age  as  do  convulsions.  Unlike  the  latter,  meningitis 
shows  a  fluctuating  rate,  and  science  has  not  yet  been  able 
to  strike  at  the  root  of  the  disease. 

2.  Proportionate  Mortality  from  Principal  Dis- 
eases. 

Having  completed  this  short  summary  of  the  diseases 
to  which  children  are  especially  prone,  the  following  table 
showing  the  distribution  of  mortality  among  several  groups 
of  diseases  is  particularly  significant. 

Proportionate  Mortality  from  Principal  Diseases 
(in  Percentages) 


Diseases 

Eng- 
land! 

Registration  Area 

OP  THE  United 

States 2 

Diseases  of  early  Infancy 

Diarrhea  and  Enteritis 

Convulsions 

Under  1 

32.3 
13.9 
10.7 
17.4 
25.7 

Under  1 
26.4 

26.0 

5.0 

14.6 

28.0 

Under  5 

19.0 

23.5 

4.3 

Bronchitis  and  Pneumonia     .... 
All  other  Causes 

16.9 
36.3 

This  table  indicates  that  four  groups  of  diseases  are 
responsible  for  three  fourths  of  the  deaths  of  infants  and 

1  Figures  taken  from  Infant  Mortality,  by  George  W.  Newman. 

2  Computed  from    Report  of  the  Bureau  of  the  Census,   Mortality 
Statistics,  1905. 


CHILDREN'S  DISEASES  59 

for  about  two  thirds  of  the  deaths  of  children  under  five. 
The  first  group  includes  most  of  the  cases  of  children 
afflicted  with  constitutional  weaknesses  or  with  acquired 
atrophied  conditions.  The  prevention  of  this  mortality- 
is  most  difficult,  and  will  require  extensive  social  changes. 
The  diarrheal  diseases  cause  about  one  fourth  of  the  mor- 
tality of  infants  and  small  children  in  the  United  States. 
The  figures  for  England  do  not  include  gastritis,  which, 
if  added,  as  in  the  American  tables,  would  raise  the  mor- 
tality from  this  group  of  diseases  to  about  20  per  cent. 
This  heavy  mortality  is  largely  preventable,  and  practi- 
cable measures  for  solving  the  problem  have  been  adopted 
in  a  number  of  cities.  Convulsions  are  twice  as  common 
in  England  as  they  are  in  the  United  States.  The  chief 
respiratory  diseases  claim  from  one  seventh  to  one  sixth 
of  the  infant  mortality.  Exposure  is  the  principal  cause  of 
this  high  rate.  It  will  be  noticed  that  the  contagious  dis- 
eases form  a  comparatively  inconspicuous  part  of  the 
infant  mortality  of  to-day.  The  entire  group  of  such 
diseases,  as  well  as  all  others,  are  classed  under  '^  all  other 
causes,"  yet  this  entire  group  contributes  only  one  fourth 
of  the  total  death  rate  and  little  more  than  the  American 
death  rate  for  diseases  of  the  digestive  system.  Both  in- 
dividual and  social  conditions  are  at  fault,  and  a  marked 
reduction  of  the  mortality  of  children  can  not  occur  with- 
out considerable  reform.  Increased  interference  with  the 
parental  control  of  children  and  with  the  social  causes  of 
disease  is  necessary. 


CHAPTER   V 

ultimate  causes  of  infant  mortality 

1.  Principal  Causes. 

More  fundamental  than  the  immediate  causes  of  the 
death  rate  quoted  in  the  foregoing  chapter  are  the  ultimate 
factors  which  are  responsible  for  the  fatal  diseases  of  child- 
hood. The  art  of  medicine  deals  with  specific  diseases, 
but  social  workers  are  more  directly  concerned  with  the 
prevention  of  the  particular  ailments  than  with  their  medi- 
cal treatment.  Dr.  Farr,  the  eminent  English  vital  statis- 
tician, concluded  that  the  conditions  in  respect  to  food, 
water,  cleanliness,  malnutrition,  and  midwifery  were  the 
principal  causes  of  the  unnecessary  infant  mortality  in 
England.  This  was  fifty  years  ago,  however.  Arthur 
Newsholme  in  1899  gave  the  following  classification  of 
causes :  — 

1.  Premature  Birth  and  Congenital  Defects. 

2.  Hereditary  Tendencies.  (Inheritance  of  siphilis, 
drunkenness,  etc.) 

3.  Inexperience  and  Neglect  of  Mothers. 

4.  Industrial  Conditions.  (Women  working  during  and 
after  pregnancy.) 

5.  Social  Conditions. 

6.  Improper  Food. 

7.  Deaths  from  Accidental  or  Homicidal  Violence. 
George  Newman  regards  the  ante-natal  influence  as  a 

most  prominent  cause  of  infant  mortality  in  England. 
Among  the  important  factors  he  includes  the  ill  effects  of 

60 


ULTIMATE  CAUSES  OF  INFANT  MORTALITY      61 

poisoning  caused  by  the  work  of  mothers  in  certain  dan- 
gerous trades,  the  action  of  alcohol  upon  foetal  life,  poor 
physique  and  ill  health  in  the  mother,  previous  miscarriages, 
poverty  and  insufficiency  of  food,  and  overv\'ork  by  the 
mother.  Among  the  post-natal  causes  are  :  the  occupa- 
tion of  mothers  who  leave  their  children  at  home  without 
providing  them  with  proper  care ;  the  prevalence  of  city 
life  ;  poor  housing ;  bad  social  conditions  ;  artificial  feed- 
ing of  infants  ;  the  use  of  contaminated  milk  ;  and  igno- 
rance and  carelessness  on  the  part  of  mothers.  This 
ignorance  manifests  itself  in  the  methods  of  feeding,  in 
uncleanliness,  in  exposure,  in  drunkenness,  and  in  indif- 
ference to  parental  obligations.  To  poverty  as  a  cause 
Newman  does  not  attach  much  weight. 

2.  Classification  of  Causes. 

The  underlying  causes  with  special  reference  to  the 
United  States  may  be  conveniently  classified  as  follows  :  — 
I.   Improper  Feeding : 

1.  Artificial  feeding. 

2.  Use  of  indigestible  foods. 

3.  Use  of  bad  milk, 
II.   Underfeeding. 

1.  Caused  by  ignorance  of  mother. 

2.  Caused  by  failure  of  natural  food  supply. 

3.  Caused  by  poverty  of  parents. 
III.   Unsanitary  Conditions. 

1.  Bad  housing  conditions,  such  as  insufficient  light 

and  air. 

2.  Overcrowding. 

3.  Filthy  homes. 

4.  Absence  of  needed  sanitary  arrangements,  e.g.j 

sewage  systems. 

5.  Germ-laden  water. 

6.  Lack  of  park  area. 


62  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

IV.   Ignorance  of  Parents. 

1.  As  to  need  of  pure  air. 

2.  As  to  right  methods  of  feeding  the  child. 

3.  As  to  proper  way  of  protecting  child  from  ex- 

posure. 

4.  As  to  intelligent  care  of  the  sick  child. 
V.   Inadequate  Quarantine  System. 

VI.   General  Influence  of  City  Life. 
VII.   Parental  NegUgence. 
VIII.   Chmatic  Conditions. 

1.  Extremes  of  heat  or  cold. 

2.  Dampness. 

IX.   Occupation  of  Mother. 
X.   Prenatal  Influences. 

1.  Hereditary  causes. 
a.   Defectiveness. 

h.   Constitutional  weakness, 
c.   Inherited  disease. 

2.  Acquired  Conditions. 

a.  Effects  of  overwork  by  mother. 

b.  Toxic  influence  on  foetal  life. 

c.  Malnutrition  of  mother. 

d.  Conditions    inducing    abortion,    premature 

birth,  and  malformation. 
The  exact  weight  of  each  of  these  causes  cannot  be  de- 
termined, nor  is  it  possible  to  isolate  any  of  the  factors,  but 
the  comparative  importance  of  some  of  them  can  at  least 
be  approximated.  Among  the  most  important  causes  are  : 
improper  feeding,  ignorance  of  parents,  and  insanitary 
conditions. 

3.   Use  of  Artificial  Foods. 

Nature  has  provided  a  most  satisfactory  way  of  feeding 
the  infant,  but  civilization  has  recently  begun  to  substitute 
other  methods.     So  far  the  substitutions  have  not  been 


ULTIMATE  CAUSES  OF  INFANT  MORTALITY     63 

generally  successful,  although  there  is  no  inherent  reason 
why  they  may  not  be  eventually  so  perfected  that  efficient 
results  will  follow.  Many  mothers  now  feed  their  babies 
on  cow's  milk,  and  have  discontinued  breast  feeding.  This 
is  probably  true  of  a  majority  of  the  wealthy  classes  and 
of  a  large  minority  of  the  poor.  If  ordinary  raw  dairy 
milk  is  used,  the  result  is  frequently  disastrous  to  the  child. 
The  effects  of  milk  substitutes  are  on  the  other  hand  still 
more  fatal,  and  both  classes  of  food  may  be  heavily  laden 
with  disease  and  death.  Tests  made  in  European  coun- 
tries have  revealed  the  ^f act  that  breast  feeding  yields  the 
lowest  infant  mortality,  that  the  use  of  animal  milk  causes 
a  larger  death  rate,  and  that  the  milk  substitutes  are  re- 
sponsible for  the  highest  rates. 

Animal  milk,  in  order  to  become  an  adequate  substitute 
for  the  natural  milk  of  the  babe,  must  be  modified,  because 
the  normal  ingredients  of  the  two  differ  in  their  proportions, 
and  the  animal  milk  is  not  naturally  adapted  to  the  infant. 
If  therefore  the  use  of  such  milk  is  to  increase,  its  modifica- 
tion will  be  necessary  in  the  case  of  thousands  of  infants 
in  order  to  prevent  their  becoming  victims  of  disease. 
Many  children  are  able  to  thrive  on  undiluted  cow's  milk, 
but  it  is  precisely  because  large  numbers  are  incapable  of 
adapting  themselves  to  this  unnatural  diet  that  diseases 
of  the  digestive  system  attack  and  destroy  them.  Breast 
milk  changes  in  constituency,  varying  with  the  age  of  the 
child  —  an  accommodation  which  has  been  worked  out 
by  nature  for  the  advantage  of  the  babe.  Animal  milk 
does  not  vary  in  its  constituency  to  meet  the  changing 
needs  of  the  infant,  and  consequently  is  an  inferior  and  un- 
satisfactory food.  The  proper  modification  of  animal 
food  requires  various  mixtures,  each  adapted  to  a  specific 
age  period  of  the  infant.  At  least  three  or  four  different 
modifications  are  needed  during  the  first  six  months  of  life. 

Experiments   conducted   by  the   Rockefeller   Institute 


64 


CHILD  PROBLEMS 


of  New  York  City  to  test  the  relative  merits  of  the  different 
kinds  of  milk  used  for  infants  resulted  in  the  following 
statistics.  The  tests  covered  four  kinds  of  milk,  families 
using  such  milk  being  selected  for  observation.  A  study 
was  made  of  400  families  divided  into  four  equal  groups, 
each  of  which  used  a  different  grade  of  milk.  The  results 
secured  are  given  in  the  subjoined  table. 

Merits  of  Different  Grades  of  Milk 


Grade  of  Milk 

Results  Good 

Results  Bad 

Condensed  mWk 

Store  milk 

56 

60 
81 
61 

4t 
40 

Straus  and  diet  kitchen  milk    .     .     . 
Bottled  milk 

19 
39 

The  store  milk  was  sold  from  the  open  cans,  and  was 
therefore  subject  to  rapid  deterioration  and  multiplication 
of  bacteria.  It  yielded  the  worst  results,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  condensed  milk,  which  is  not  adapted  to  the 
small  child  and  which  can  not,  from  its  very  nature,  be 
expected  to  be  successful.  Bottled  milk  proved  slightly 
more  favorable,  but  the  pasteurized  and  specially  prepared 
milk  alone  showed  a  high  percentage  of  good  results.  The 
difference  between  the  last  grade  and  the  rest  is  sufficiently 
striking  to  illustrate  the  necessity  of  constant  attention 
to  the  character  of  food  given  to  the  infant. 

The  investigation  made  in  1907  by  the  summer  corps 
of  inspectors  and  nurses  of  the  New  York  City  Department 
of  Health  yielded  the  following  very  interesting  conclusions 
in  relation  to  the  results  of  feeding  children  wath  various 
kinds  of  milk  :  of  the  total  number  of  children  under  nine 
months  of  age,  81.15  per  cent  were  being  breast-fed,  and 
only  18.85  per  cent  received  cow's  milk  or  other  forms  of 


ULTIMATE  CAUSES  OF  INFANT   MORTALITY     65 

artificial  food.  The  latter  group  of  children,  however, 
furnished  57.53  per  cent  of  all  cases  of  diarrhea,  while  the 
former  group,  comprising  more  than  four  fifths  of  all  the 
children  investigated,  supplied  less  than  one  half  (42.47 
per  cent,  of  the  cases.  Of  the  children  under  nine  months 
of  age  who  died  of  diarrheal  diseases,  25.04  per  cent  had 
been  breast-fed,  while  74.96  per  cent  had  been  artificially 
fed.  The  proportions  for  children  over  nine  months  were 
almost  similar,  being  23.72  and  76.28  per  cent  respectively. 
Accordingly,  three  fourths  of  the  deaths  from  these  dis- 
eases were  furnished  by  a  group  containing  less  than  one 
fifth  of  the  total  number  of  children.  The  superiority  of 
mother's  milk  and  the  bad  effects  under  ordinary  conditions 
of  the  various  forms  of  artificial  foods  are  thus  clearly 
demonstrated.^ 

The  first  step  advocated  by  many  physicians  is  the  re- 
turn to  breast  feeding  wherever  that  is  possible,  because 
a  pure  clean  food  is  thereby  assured.  In  an  increasing 
number  of  cases,  however,  this  seems  impossible,  and  the 
market  supply  of  milk  must  be  improved  in  order  to  insure 
the  health  of  the  babies  and  small  children.  The  milk 
supply  of  our  cities,  however,  receives  but  little  attention 
because  its  importance  has  not  yet  been  appreciated. 

4.  Heat  and  Neglect  as  Contributory  Causes. 

The  principal  specific  result  of  the  use  of  bad  milk  is  the 
occurrence  of  diseases  of  the  digestive  system,  and  these, 
as  has  already  been  shown,  are  the  most  important  group 
of  causes  of  infant  and  child  mortality.  The  special  in- 
cidence of  a  high  death  rate  during  the  hot  summer  months 
depends  partly  upon  the  effect  of  the  heat  upon  the  milk, 
which  deteriorates  and  develops  harmful  bacteria  in  a  very 
short  time.  Accordingly,  the  child  suffers  relatively  more 
in  summer  from  the  use  of  milk  originally  as  good  and  as 

1  See  Report  of  Department  of  Health  of  New  York  City,  1907,  pp.  43  ff . 
V 


66  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

carefully  handled  as  the  milk  which  is  supplied  during  the 
winter  months.  The  effect  of  heat,  it  must  be  observed, 
is  indirect ;  bad  milk  is  the  immediate  cause  of  the  intes- 
tinal disorders.  The  heat,  however,  aggravates  these 
diseases,  and  the  ignorance  of  parents  in  regard  to  the 
proper  care  of  children  under  these  conditions  contributes 
further  to  the  gravity  of  the  problem.  Ignorance  and 
neglect  are  believed  to  be  three  times  as  fatal  as  the  hot 
weather ! 

5.  Bad  Housing  Conditions. 

Coupled  with  the  questions  of  bad  milk,  ignorance  of 
parents,  and  neglect  of  children,  are  the  frequent  disrepu- 
table housing  conditions  of  the  poor,  whereby  insuffi- 
cient light,  fresh  air,  sunshine,  and  good  water  are  procured. 
The  probability  of  a  sick  child^s  survival  is  thus  greatly 
lessened. 

Remedial  measures  must  be  applied  to  the  entire  gamut 
of  social  causes  of  child  mortality,  although  the  factors 
which  have  just  been  indicated  should  receive  the  most 
attention. 


CHAPTER   VI 
the  milk  problem 

1.  The  Milk  Factor. 

The  importance  of  the  milk  question  is  evident  from  the 
attitude  of  the  health  boards  of  the  various  cities.  The 
New  York  City  Health  Department  has  given  the  follow- 
ing reasons  for  the  decrease  of  62  per  cent  in  infant  mor- 
tality from  1881  to  1903  :  — 

a.  Purer  milk  secured  through  increased  official  watch- 
fulness. 

b.  Pasteurization  of  milk  by  private  philanthropies. 

c.  Education  of  mothers  and  nurses  in  regard  to  food, 
especially  to  milk. 

d.  The  opening  of  small  parks. 
6.   Cleaner  streets. 

/.   The  floating  hospital  of  St.  John's  Guild. 

Three  of  these  measures  of  relief  are  connected  with  the 
problem  of  good  milk,  and  special  emphasis  is  placed  upon 
them  by  the  department  because  they  have  been  the  chief 
factors  in  causing  the  reduction  of  the  mortality.  Health 
boards  everywhere  are  beginning  to  solve  the  question 
by  undertaking  to  supply  either  pure  or  pasteurized 
milk  for  the  small  children.  The  nature  of  the  prob- 
lem varies  from  city  to  city,  and  therefore  the  methods 
used  can  not  be  identical.  Local  conditions  determine 
whether  a  city  shall  demand  pure  milk  or  be  content 
with    pasteurization. 

67 


68  CHILD  PROBLEMS 


2.   Requisites  of  Good  Milk. 

Specialists  now  demand  that  all  milk  meet  two  require- 
ments :  cleanliness  and  proper  temperature.^  The  former 
is  the  supreme  need,  as  without  cleanliness  the  develop- 
ment of  bacteria  can  not  be  prevented.  The  principal 
considerations  upon  which  clean  milk  depends  are  the  fol- 
lowing :  cows  must  be  in  good  condition  and  incapable  of 
responding  to  the  tuberculin  test ;  dairymen  and  all  per- 
sons handling  the  milk  must  be  free  from  contagious  dis- 
eases and  must  carry  on  their  work  with  sufficient  care  to 
reduce  to  a  minimum  the  amount  of  dirt  and  foreign  par- 
ticles in  the  milk ;  the  premises  as  well  as  the  cows  must 
be  kept  clean  to  protect  the  milk  from  contamination ; 
cans,  bottles,  and  all  vessels  containing  milk  need  adequate 
sterilization  because  dirty  utensils  are  a  source  of  danger, 
as  the  bacteria  lodge  in  the  uneven  surfaces  of  the  vessels 
and  speedily  multiply  in  the  milk ;  depots  must  maintain 
sanitary  conditions  to  prevent  the  infection  of  milk  ; 
finally,  the  consumer  must  know  the  essential  conditions 
under  which  milk  will  deteriorate  and  become  dangerous 
food  for  small  children. 

Proper  temperature  is  the  next  essential,  because  it  is 
only  by  rapid  cooling  that  the  deterioration  of  milk  can  be 
retarded.  There  are  three  stages  in  the  handling  of  milk  : 
first,  it  is  cooled  at  the  dairy,  where  its  temperature  should 
be  immediately  reduced  to  not  more  than  50  degrees 
Fahrenheit  and  then  kept  at  or  below  this  figure ;  second, 
it  is  subject  to  the  churning  process  of  transportation,  at 
first  by  wagon,  then  by  rail,  and  finally  by  wagon  dehvery 
again ;  third,  it  is  kept  and  sold  by  the  retailer.  During 
the  second  stage  it  must  be  kept  at  a  temperature  not  ex- 
ceeding 45  degrees.     The  influence  of  changing  temperature 

1  Charities  and  Commons,  Vol.  XVII,  p.  677. 


THE  MILK  PROBLEM 


69 


upon  the  quality  of  milk  is  demonstrated  by  experiments 
conducted  in  the  city  of  Chicago.  A  sample  of  fresh  milk, 
containing  11,500  bacteria  per  cubic  centimeter,  was 
divided  into  two  equal  parts  labeled  ''A"  and  "B.'^  ''A" 
was  cooled  at  the  dairy,  but  only  after  being  loaded  for 
shipment.  "B"  was  immediately  cooled,  then  iced  and 
in  a  condition  of  l-efrigeration  was  sent  to  the  city.  Both 
samples  were  delivered  to  dealers,  and  the  milk  was  twenty- 
four  hours  old  when  it  reached  the  customer.  The  ex- 
aminations showed  the  following  results  :  ^  — 

Table  Showing  the  Multiplication  op  Bacteria  in  Milk 


M? 

Place 

Bacteria  pek  Cubic  Centimeter^ 

<i 

Sample  "A" 

Sample  "B" 

Separate  test 
of  best  milk 

0 

3 

6 

12 

24 

Cow  barn 

Shipping  platform   .     . 
City  platform     .     .     . 
Dealer's  vat   ...     . 
Delivered  to  consumer 

11,500 

18,000 

102,000 

114,000 

1,300,000 

11,500 

11,000 

8,000 

7,800 

62,000 

3,890 
3,280 
3,000 
3,800 
8,400 

The  first  set  of  results  clearly  shows  that  reasonably  clean 
milk,  if  properly  iced  at  once,  then  kept  cool  while  in  transit 
and  in  the  dealer's  hands,  will  yield  a  sufficiently  low 
bacterial  count  to  render  its  use  entirely  innocuous,  while 
a  failure  to  observe  these  precautions,  especially  if  imme- 
diate cooling  is  neglected,  will  occasion  a  rapid  multiplica- 
tion of  bacteria  and  render  the  milk  unwholesome.  Bulk 
and  bottled  milk  as  sold  in  this  city  was  found  to  contain 
as  many  as  18,000,000  bacteria  per  cubic  centimeter.  The 
second  experiment,  the  results  of  which  are  given  in  the 


*  Report  of  Department  of  Health  of  Chicago,  1906,  p.  15. 


70  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

last  column  of  the  table,  represents  the  average  of  five 
tests  of  milk  properly  handled  and  kept.  It  is  clearly 
demonstrated  that  clean  production  and  proper  handling 
will  prevent  the  rapid  growth  of  bacteria  and  lessen  the 
danger  of  disease  resulting  from  the  presence  and  develop- 
ment of  bad  germs  in  the  milk.  Both  cleanliness  and  a  low 
temperature  including  immediate  cooling  are,  however, 
shown  to  be  absolutely  necessary  to  secure  suitable  milk 
for  babies. 

3.   Pasteurization  vs.  Sterilization. 

The  relative  merits  of  these  two  methods  of  providing 
the  child  with  suitable  milk  depend  largely  upon  the  local 
problem  in  each  city.  Both  methods  have  earnest  de- 
fenders as  well  as  capable  enemies.  Theoretically,  sterili- 
zation of  utensils  and  insistence  upon  cleanly  conditions 
represent  the  correct  solution  of  the  milk  problem  because 
these  measures  do  not  involve  any  chemical  change  in  the 
milk,  and  prevent  as  far  as  possible  the  introduction  of 
germs.  If  the  vessels  are  thoroughly  clean  and  the  dairy- 
man careful,  the  milk  will  contain  but  few  germs.  Bac- 
teria multiply  so  rapidly  that  when  they  are  once  introduced 
the  milk  soon  becomes  unfit  for  consumption.  Therefore 
as  a  preventive  measure,  sterilization  is  entirely  effective, 
and  the  milk  suffers  no  injury.  The  practical  difficulty 
which  the  advocates  of  this  measure  encounter  is  a  feasible 
method  of  enforcing  their  requirements.  Who  will  inspect 
the  35,000  dairies  and  the  production  of  the  1,750,000 
quarts  of  milk  which  are  consumed  by  New  York  City 
daily  and  the  vast  quantities  consumed  by  every  large 
city  ?  This  is  the  problem  of  the  adherent  of  sterilization, 
and  practicable  methods  of  realizing  his  plans  in  full  have 
not  yet  been  devised.  For  many  years  to  come,  inspec- 
tion will  not  be  adequate,  yet  clean  milk  is  the  goal  of  every 


THE  MILK  PROBLEM  71 

hygienist.  It  is  not  clear,  however,  that  the  program  of 
reform  should  be  limited  at  this  time  to  efforts  to  secure 
such  milk. 

The  advocates  of  pasteurization  insist  that  their  method 
of  treating  milk  will  kill  the  bacteria  and  provide  the  infant 
with  a  wholesome  food.  A  proper  system  of  pasteurization, 
involving  the  heating  of  milk  to  167  degrees  Fahrenheit 
for  a  period  of  twenty  minutes,  or  to  155  degrees  for  thirty 
minutes,  kills  nearly  all  of  the  harmful  bacteria  without 
resulting  in  serious  injury  to  the  milk.  The  chief  single 
source  of  children's  diseases  is  thereby  removed.  The 
method,  however,  does  not  remove  the  dirt  from  the  milk 
and  has  been  opposed  on  the  ground  that  ''milk  cooked 
with  the  dirt  in  it  is  not  so  good  as  pure  milk."  This  ob- 
jection to  pasteurization  cannot  be  gainsaid.  Besides, 
some  mischievous  germs  often  escape  death  and  continue 
to  threaten  the  health  of  the  child.  This  is  especially 
true  of  the  scarlet  fever  germs.  The  most  convincing 
argument  for  pasteurization  is  the  absence  of  other  prac- 
ticable means  for  providing  the  infant  with  a  reasonably 
good  milk  supply.  The  chief  hope  for  decreasing  infant 
mortahty  lies  in  the  use  of  pasteurized  milk.  Either 
municipal  activity  or  the  work  of  private  philanthropies, 
or  both,  is  necessary  to  carry  out  a  program  of  pasteuri- 
zation. An  element  of  danger  in  this  method  of  securing 
good  milk  lies  in  the  tendency  to  regard  pasteurization 
as  a  solution  of  the  milk  question  rather  than  as  a  tem- 
porary expedient.  The  ultimate  goal  must  always  be  the 
production  of  good  milk. 

A  combination  of  the  two  methods  of  solution  is  un- 
doubtedly the  most  feasible  plan  of  operation.  If  carried 
out,  such  a  plan  would  not  only  save  countless  infant  hves, 
but  would  also  prepare  the  way  for  a  clean  milk  supply. 
The  New  York  Milk  Conference  of  1906  decided  that  pas- 
teurization is  not  necessary  if  the  milk  is  absolutely  clean, 


72  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

and  opposed  a  system  of  compulsory  pasteurization,  but 
recommended  that  infant  milk  depots  supply  both  raw 
and  pasteurized  milk.  The  rapidity  and  facility  with  which 
germs  multiply  when  they  are  reintroduced  into  pasteur- 
ized milk  was  urged  as  a  serious  objection  to  compulsory 
methods,  and  therefore  special  stress  was  laid  on  the 
necessity  of  procuring  clean  milk. 

4.  The  Experience  of  Rochester,  New  York. 

The  wonderful  success  of  the  city  of  Rochester  in  lessen- 
ing its  child  mortality  has  already  been  mentioned,  and 
the  methods  used  to  bring  about  this  change  require  fur- 
ther notice.  The  former  excessive  death  rate  among 
children  under  five  years  of  age  called  for  an  explanation, 
and  unclean  milk  was  eventually  charged  with  responsi- 
bihty  for  this  heavy  mortality.  Accordingly,  under  the 
very  able  direction  of  Dr.  George  W.  Goler,  health  officer 
of  the  city,  notable  experiments  were  inaugurated.  The 
crusade  was  carried  on  in  spite  of  opposition  from  certain 
private  interests  that  were  affected.  Political  opposition 
was  also  encountered,  but  on  account  of  the  results  that 
were  obtained,  there  remains  at  present  no  formal  objection 
to  the  campaign  for  good  milk.  The  work  of  reform  com- 
prised a  twofold  activity  :  first,  the  realization  of  a  purer 
milk  supply ;  second,  education  of  mothers  in  infant  care 
and  management  and  in  the  proper  use  of  food.  The  in- 
vestigation of  dairies  revealed  almost  inconceivable  con- 
ditions. Dr.  Goler  found  that  'Hhe  stables  were  dirty, 
festooned  with  cobwebs  and  badly  drained ;  the  surround- 
ings, sinks  of  mud  and  cow  manure ;  the  utensils  dirty, 
often  containing  layers  of  sour  milk  with  an  admixture  of 
countless  millions  of  bacteria ;  and  the  milk  itself  so  im- 
perfectly cared  for  and  badly  cooled  that  it  often  soured 
before  reaching  the  consumer.''    To  revolutionize  these 


THE  MILK  PROBLEM  73 

conditions  seemed  almost  impossible,  especially  without 
raising  the  price  of  milk,  and  in  the  early  stages  of 
the  propaganda  this  appeared  undesirable.  The  first 
step  taken  was  the  pasteurization  of  milk  —  the  most 
feasible  method  at  the  time.  During  the  summer  of 
1897  two  fmilk  stations  were  established,  each  with  a 
trained  nurse  in  charge.  The  stations  were  humble 
estalishments  provided  with  very  simple  furniture  but 
with  the  needed  equipment.  The  best  milk  obtainable 
was  secured  and  was  then  pasteurized  at  180  degrees 
Fahrenheit  for  twenty  minutes,  after  modification  to 
suit  four  different  age  periods  of  the  baby.  The  milk 
was  placed  in  bottles  of  four  different  sizes,  to  corres- 
pond to  the  ages  of  the  children.  It  was  then  retailed 
at  cost  to  the  mothers. 

An  initial  step  in  the  successful  organization  of  the  work 
was  the  conference  with  the  mother,  who  was  often  ignorant 
of  the  proper  methods  of  caring  for  her  children.  At  the 
time  of  her  first  purchase  of  milk  the  mother  was  required 
to  appear  at  the  station  and  to  bring  her  baby  with  her 
for  examination.  A  milk  combination  suited  to  the  needs 
of  the  child  was  prescribed  by  the  physician  or  nurse,  the 
baby  was  weighed,  and  the  mother  was  instructed  in  regard 
to  the  changing  needs  of  the  child.  A  pamphlet  containing 
advice  on  the  care  of  babies  was  printed  in  various  lan- 
guages so  as  to  meet  the  lingual  conditions  of  the  city,  and 
was  distributed  among  mothers. 

For  two  years  the  work  was  carried  on  as  described  above, 
but  the  number  of  stations  was  increased  to  four.  The 
results  were  apparent  in  a  reduced  death  rate  for  children 
under  five  and  in  better  care  of  the  surviving  ones.  The 
pasteurization  of  impure  milk  was,  however,  unsatisfactory 
to  the  authorities,  and  it  was  therefore  abandoned  for  the 
better  policy  of  striving  to  secure  milk  originally  pure  and 
wholesome  and  consequently  fit  food  for  babies.     This 


74  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

reform  required  the  sterilization  of  all  the  utensils  in  which 
the  milk  was  placed,  and  the  use  of  clean  milk.  In  1899 
a  central  milk  station  was  established  on  a  dairy  farm. 
Owing  to  the  precautions  taken  by  the  farmer,  and  the 
complete  sterilization  of  all  milk  utensils,  pasteurization 
was  then  abandoned  and  the  raw  milk  was  apportioned 
to  the  stations  located  in  the  city.  In  order  to  educate 
producers  the  central  station  was  located  on  a  different 
farm  each  succeeding  year.  The  influence  of  this  rotation 
extended  far  beyond  the  dairy  directly  affected.  This 
aggressive  method  for  providing  the  poor  with  good  milk 
was  supplemented  by  vigorous  inspection  of  all  dairies 
contributing  to  the  city  milk  supply.  A  well-developed 
system  of  marking  and  grading  dairy  conditions,  as  well 
as  the  milk  placed  upon  the  market,  has  raised  the  standards 
of  dairymen,  and  has  resulted  in  a  lower  rate  of  infant 
mortality.^ 

The  essential  features  of  the  Rochester  experiment  are 
the  following :  — 

1.  Sterilization  of  utensils  instead  of  pasteurization  of 
milk. 

2.  Rigid  inspection  of  dairies. 

3.  Inspection  of  cows  and  tests  for  tuberculosis. 

4.  Periodical  bacteriological  examinations  of  the  milk 
used  in  the  city. 

5.  Milk  stations  for  the  dispensation  of  good  milk. 

6.  Education  of  mothers  in  regard  to  infant  care  and 
management. 

7.  The  use  of  modified  milk  suited  to  the  needs  of  babies 
at  different  ages.  The  general  results  of  this  work  can 
be  shown  in  figures  of  unmistakable  meaning.  Although 
Rochester  has  grown  considerably  during  the  last  decade, 
the  following  achievement  is  indicated :  — 

^  Charities  and  Commons,  April,  1907,  Supplement.  Dr.  Goler  gives 
a  full  account  of  the  Rochester  experiment  in  this  article. 


THE  MILK  PEOBLBM 


76 


Deaths  of  Children  under  Five  in  Rochester,  N.  Y. 


1887-1896 

1897-1906 

7,451 

4,8G5 

552 

388 

526 

443 

1,222 

540 

1,075 

603 

739 

532 

434 

293 

Total  .  , 
January  . 
April  .  , 
July  .  . 
August 
September 
November 


This  table  clearly  indicates  that  a  tremendous  reduc- 
in  the  death  rate  of  children  has  occurred.  Particularly 
gratifying  is  the  result  for  the  summer  months,  when  the 
death  rate  is  usually  enormous.  Not  only  has  the  aggre- 
gate number  of  deaths  been  reduced  one  half  during  these 
months,  but  the  former  disproportion  between  the  summer 
rates  and  those  for  the  rest  of  the  year  has  been  substan- 
tially modified.  Good  milk  and  better  care  of  children 
produce  definite  consequences,  in  spite  of  warm  weather 
and  its  tendency  to  aggravate  the  diarrheal  diseases. 
Rochester  was  the  pioneer  in  the  campaign  for  good  milk, 
and  no  other  city  can  as  yet  boast  of  such  successful  results 
from  the  control  of  the  milk  supply. 

5.  Milk  Depots  in  other  Cities. 

The  Straus  milk  depots  of  New  York  originated  in  1893, 
when  the  philanthropist  Straus  donated  a  considerable 
sum  of  money  for  the  establishment  of  depots  in  various 
parts  of  the  city.  These  depots  sell  both  modified  and 
pasteurized  milk  at  less  than  the  cost  price,  and  are  there- 
fore a  form  of  charitable  endeavor.  An  immense  patronage 
has  been  developed,  and  the  use  of  this  milk  undoubtedly 
accounts  for  a  large  part  of  the  significant  reduction  in  the 


76  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

infant  mortality  of  New  York  City  within  the  last  few 
years. 

Milk  depots  are  becoming  popular  and  have  been  intro- 
duced into  a  number  of  the  large  cities.  They  are  operated 
by  private  philanthropy,  however,  and  are  not  municipal 
depots  such  as  one  may  find  in  Europe.  In  some  cases  a 
sufficient  number  have  been  scattered  throughout  a  city 
to  enable  most  persons  desiring  to  use  them  to  do  so.  The 
service  of  a  majority  of  these  stations,  however,  is  still 
inadequate  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  people.  Furthermore, 
a  campaign  of  education  is  necessary  to  arouse  the  poor 
to  the  advantage  of  good  milk.  As  yet  the  true  function 
of  the  depots  is  hardly  understood  by  the  mothers  who 
should  patronize  them,  and  therefore  their  fullest  usefulness 
has  not  yet  been  achieved. 

6.   Clinics  for  Babies. 

An  auxiliary  feature  of  some  of  the  milk  depots  is  the 
babies'  clinic.  Here  infants  are  examined  by  the  physi- 
cian in  charge,  or,  in  his  absence,  by  a  trained  nurse.  As 
already  explained  in  connection  with  the  experience  of 
Rochester,  the  baby  is  weighed,  his  case  is  carefully  diag- 
nosed, milk  of  the  proper  modification  is  prescribed,  the 
mother  is  instructed  as  to  the  best  methods  of  feeding, 
and  is  ordered  to  bring  the  child  to  the  depot  whenever 
the  physician  finds  this  necessary.  The  condition  of  the^ 
mother  and  her  ability  to  care  for  the  child  are  noted,  and 
in  numerous  cases  the  trained  nurse  is  detailed  to  visit  the 
homes  of  the  babies  to  supplement  the  work  of  the  mother. 
Such  efforts  have  a  cumulative  effect,  since  mothers  com- 
municate their  experience  to  other  women,  who  profit  from 
the  knowledge  obtained.  This  form  of  education  is  defi- 
nitely bound  up  with  the  milk  depot,  but  other  methods  of 
instruction  are  also  employed.  These  will  be  considered 
later. 


THE  MILK  PROBLEM  77 


7.  Dairy  Inspection. 

Recently  a  standard  grade  of  milk  known  as  "certified 
milk"  has  been  introduced.  This  milk  is  produced  under 
such  sanitary  conditions  as  to  warrant  its  cleanliness  and 
a  low  bacterial  count.  The  milk  must  reach  a  certain 
fixed  standard  in  order  to  gain  the  privilege  of  using  the 
label.  The  clientele  of  this  grade  of  milk,  on  account  of 
its  prohibitive  price,  is  largely  confined  to  the  well-to-do. 
The  number  of  dairies  meeting  the  requirements  of  certi- 
fied milk  is  comparatively  small,  and  many  difficulties  must 
be  overcome  before  the  bulk  of  the  milk  produced  will  be 
raised  to  this  standard. 

The  chief  efforts  of  municipalities  in  their  campaigns 
for  good  milk  are  at  present  directed  toward  the  better 
inspection  of  dairies.  New  York  City  procures  milk  from 
six  or  more  states,  but  inspectors  from  New  York  have  no 
power  to  coerce  dairymen  from  other  states,  yet  some  form 
of  coercion  is  necessary.  This  is  secured  by  dividing  the 
inspection  force  into  two  separate  groups  ;  the  one  engages 
in  the  work  of  inspecting  the  dairies  themselves,  the  other 
inspects  milk  after  it  is  brought  to  the  city  and  decides 
upon  its  quality  and  cleanliness.  If  found  unfit  for  food, 
the  milk  is  rejected  and  the  dairyman  who  produced  it 
is  no  longer  permitted  to  ship  his  milk  to  the  city.  An 
effective  check  upon  insanitary  methods  of  production 
can  thus  be  exercised  by  the  inspectors  who  perform  their 
work  within  the  city  itself.  The  traveling  inspectors, 
although  without  direct  power,  can  threaten  to  direct  the 
city  authorities  to  prohibit  a  recalcitrant  dairyman  from 
sending  his  disqualified  milk  to  the  city,  and  can  thus 
compel  him  to  improve  the  conditions  under  which  his 
milk  is  produced.  By  means  of  an  elaborate  system  of 
grading,  the  comparative  standing  of  each  dairyman 
visited  can  be  placed  on  record,  and  doubtful  producers 


78  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

can  be  more  carefully  followed,  and  if  necessary  their  prod- 
uct can  be  rejected.  The  chief  obstacle  to  adequate  in- 
spection is  the  physical  impossibility  of  supervising  the 
dairies  and  of  visiting  them  with  sufficient  frequency  to 
ascertain  whether  standards  are  being  maintained.  Polit- 
ical interference  usually  operates  to  prevent  the  estab- 
lishment of  an  adequate  force  of  inspectors,  and  at  pres- 
ent the  health  departments  are  badly  handicapped  in  their 
work. 

A  very  wholesome  effect  of  persistent  inspection  of  the 
milk  supply  is  the  detection  of  contagious  diseases  along 
the  route,  and  the  immediate  stoppage  of  the  milk  sent 
from  the  sources  of  contamination.  By  means  of  a  tell- 
tale register  the  infected  milk  is  discovered.  Whenever 
a  case  of  contagious  disease  is  reported,  it  is  charged  to 
the  particular  dairy  of  which  the  diseased  person  is  a 
patron.  If  other  cases  can  be  similarly  charged,  an  in- 
vestigation is  instituted,  and  whenever  the  source  of  con- 
tagion can  be  definitely  traced  to  an  offending  dairy,  it 
is  closed  until  the  danger  is  passed.  Epidemics  of  scarlet 
fever,  measles,  typhoid  fever,  diphtheria,  and  even  of 
smallpox  have  been  effectually  checked  in  this  way.  The 
danger  from  scarlet  fever  can  thus  be  largely  minimized. 
An  epidemic  of  this  disease  in  Chicago  was  recently  traced 
to  a  single  dairy  in  the  state  of  Wisconsin. 

8.  Summary. 

The  methods  employed  in  the  United  States  to  meet  the 
problem  of  a  good  milk  supply  are  briefly  the  following  :  — 

1.  Infant  milk  depots  where  modified  and  pasteurized 
milk  may  be  secured  at  or  below  cost. 

2.  The  gradual  evolution  of  a  grade  of  superior  milk 
known  as  ''certified  milk.'' 

3.  Increased  inspection  of  dairies  contributing  to  the 
milk  supply. 


THE  MILK  PROBLEM  79 

4.  Bacteriological  tests  of  the  milk  received  within  a 
city. 

5.  Commercial  pasteurization,  which  consists  in  heating 
milk  to  167  degrees  Fahrenheit  for  about  twenty  seconds. 
This  has  little  value,  however. 

6.  Rejection  of  infected  milk. 

7.  The  introduction  of  the  tuberculin  test  for  cows  and 
the  elimination  of  those  which  are  diseased. 

8.  Complete  pasteurization  of  practically  all  milk  until 
the  efforts  to  secure  pure  raw  milk  have  become  measurably 
successful. 

Note.  Walker-Gordon  laboratories  have  been  established  in  a  num- 
ber of  the  larger  cities  of  the  United  States.  These  laboratories  prepare 
modified  milk  suited  to  the  needs  of  each  individual  child.  The  milk  is 
sold  on  a  commercial  basis,  and  costs  four  or  five  times  the  price  of  ordinary 
milk.  It  is  not  therefore  within  the  reach  of  the  poorer  classes,  but  its 
use  is  increasing  among  the  wealthy.  The  cost  of  producing  an  indefi- 
nite number  of  modifications  is  so  great  that  the  availability  of  this  kind 
of  milk  for  the  children  of  the  poor  is  quite  remote. 


CHAPTER   VII 

supplementary  methods  of  decreasing  mortality 

1.  Avoidance  of  Artificial  Foods. 

Closely  related  to  the  problem  of  a  pure  milk  supply 
is  the  question,  to  what  extent  should  artificial  food  be 
substituted  for  nature's  method  of  providing  for  the  wants 
of  the  child.  If  cow's  milk  were  to  be  generally  used,  then 
our  problem  could  be  concentrated ;  but  other  foods  are 
substituted  for  milk.  These  cause  a  higher  mortality  than 
does  cow's  milk,  and  therefore  their  general  use  by  ignorant 
mothers  should  be  discouraged.  Many  of  the  infant  milk 
depots  have  adopted  the  policy  of  advocating  the  return 
to  nature's  method  wherever  possible,  and  mothers  are 
instructed  to  nurse  the  child  themselves  if  they  are  physi- 
cally capable  of  doing  so.  The  child  is  then  provided  with 
a  food  adapted  to  its  needs.  The  extended  endorsement 
of  this  pohcy  abroad  has  resulted,  especially  in  France, 
in  a  widespread  return  to  the  old  and  venerable  method 
of  feeding  infants  on  breast  milk.  In  our  large  cities  the 
instruction  given  by  the  nurses  attending  the  milk  depots 
has  also  produced  similar  results. 

Many  infants  fed  upon  mother's  milk  suffer  and  waste 
away.  Consequences  of  this  sort  are  an  indication  that 
the  mother  is  physically  unfit  to  nurse  her  child.  Under 
these  conditions  breast  feeding  should  be  abandoned  unless 
the  mother  is  able  to  recuperate  so  that  the  child  will  begin 
to  thrive  and  become  a  healthy,  vigorous  infant.  Many 
instances  plainly  justify  the  use  of  cow's  milk.     In  France 

80 


METHODS  OF  DECREASING  MORTALITY        81 

again  a  part  of  the  remedial  work  consists  in  providing  the 
mother  with  food,  and  in  restoring  her  health  and  vigor. 
Unquestionably  the  interests  of  the  child  will  be  better 
conserved  if  the  mother  is  able  to  feed  the  child  directly. 
In  the  United  States,  however,  this  method  of  solving  the 
problem  is  only  a  remote  contingency.  Efforts  to  instruct 
and  strengthen  the  mother  will  accomplish  something, 
but  the  line  of  least  resistance  will  be  the  use  of  cow's  milk. 
It  will  be  difficult  to  change  this  practice. 

2.  Parental  Education. 

Apart  from  the  question  of  a  pure  milk  supply,  parental 
ignorance  is  the  chief  problem  to  which  society  must  ad- 
dress itself  in  order  to  decrease  infant  mortality.  This 
ignorance  is  so  widespread  that  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  children  are  annually  paying  the  penalty.  The  problem 
is  the  more  serious  because  no  adequate  system  of  pro- 
viding the  mother  with  the  needed  information  has  as  yet 
been  devised.  How  to  reach  her  is  the  question.  Can  it 
be  done  without  overstepping  the  individualistic  limits 
with  which  we  have  circumscribed  ourselves?  Or  will  it 
be  necessary  to  act  definitely  for  the  social  interest  in  spite 
of  any  paternalism  that  may  be  involved? 

As  suggested  in  the  foregoing  chapter,  infant  milk  de- 
pots have  attempted  reform  by  providing  some  informa- 
tion for  the  mothers.  A  number  of  the  more  progressive 
cities  send  a  circular  of  information  to  all  mothers  of  infants 
whose  births  are  officially  registered,  and  most  cities  have 
now  made  the  registration  of  births  compulsory.  The 
efficacy  of  this  method  of  instruction  is  doubtful  because 
very  little  attention  is  ordinarily  paid  to  freely  distributed 
circulars.  Unless  the  facts  so  conveyed  can  be  vividly 
impressed  on  the  minds  of  the  mothers,  little  good  is  accom- 
plished. If  the  instruction  is  understood  and  heeded, 
splendid  results  may  follow. 


82  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

The  experience  of  the  little  town  of  Huddersfield,  Eng- 
land, will  illustrate  the  effects  of  knowledge  in  the  art  of 
infant  care  and  management.^  In  order  to  decrease  the 
infant  mortality  of  one  of  the  bad  districts  of  the  town, 
the  mayor  in  1904  offered  a  small  premium  for  every  child 
who  should  reach  the  twelfth  month  of  life.  The  promise 
was  issued  on  a  small  card  bearing  the  baby's  name  and 
date  of  birth  and  the  address  of  the  parents.  In  addition 
the  card  contained  rules  of  advice,  most  prominent  of 
which  was  the  appeal  in  favor  of  the  use  of  mother's  milk. 
This  appeal  was  fortified  by  the  statement  that  infant 
mortality  is  fifteen  times  greater  when  other  means  of 
feeding  are  employed.  Visits  were  as  frequent  as  necessary, 
and  special  efforts  were  made  to  render  service  to  mothers 
at  the  beginning  of  both  the  hot  and  the  cold  seasons,  when 
disease  is  most  frequent  and  the  mortality  from  certain 
complaints  is  aggravated.  This  combination  of  methods 
gave  remarkable  results.  During  this  trial  year  the  infant 
mortahty  of  the  district  fell  from  134  per  1000  births  to 
54  —  a  decline  of  approximately  60  per  cent.  The  value 
of  the  plan  can  not  be  doubted,  in  spite  of  the  small  area 
covered  and  the  temporary  nature  of  the  experiment. 

A  remarkable  instance  of  ignorance  among  mothers  in 
New  York  City  was  unearthed  by  the  New  York  Society 
for  Improving  the  Conditions  of  the  Poor.  During  the 
summer  of  1906  the  society  carried  on  a  campaign  of  edu- 
cation at  its  camp  located  at  Sixty-Fourth  Street  and  the 
East  River.  Mothers  were  addressed  twice  a  week  on 
topics  of  value  in  connection  with  the  care  of  children. 
Among  the  statistical  discoveries  made  were  the  following  : 
out  of  108  mothers,  79  had  never  heard  how  to  feed  babies  ; 
95  knew  nothing  about  the  importance  of  the  use  of  proper 
clothing  for  children ;  65  had  no  idea  of  the  curative  prop- 

>  See  Newman,  George,  Infant  Mortality,  p.  265. 


METHODS  OF  DECREASING  MORTALITY       83 

erties  of  fresh  air.^  These  facts  show  an  appaUing  lack 
of  knowledge  on  these  vital  subjects.  Coming  from  a 
different  climate  and  guided  by  foreign  methods,  immi- 
grant mothers  often  fail  utterly  to  realize  the  need  of  ade- 
quate clothing  for  their  children  during  the  cold  seasons 
of  the  year.  The  author  has  seen  small  children  indecently 
clad  even  for  summer  time  playing  on  the  open  streets  on 
cold  February  days.  Such  ignorance  necessarily  increases 
infant  and  child  mortality. 

3.  The  Visiting  Nurse. 

The  duties  of  the  visiting  nurse  will  eventually  be  so 
extended  as  to  include  the  personal  care  of  infants  and 
the  instruction  of  mothers  in  the  principles  of  baby  manage- 
ment. A  visit  to  the  family  to  nurse  the  young  infant  has 
value  as  training  for  the  mother  and  the  older  children, 
and  the  knowledge  thus  disseminated  is  in  no  way  measured 
by  the  number  of  infants  visited.  In  Boston  many  small 
children  have  been  saved  in  the  homes  of  consumptives 
because  the  treatment  of  the  latter  has  been  accompanied 
by  examinations  of  the  children.  The  work  of  the  nurse 
has  heretofore  been  so  strenuous  that  the  cases  visited 
have  not  usually  included  small  babies,  although  young 
mothers  have  frequently  become  the  objects  of  such  visits. 
Special  attention  to  the  problem  of  infant  mortality  from 
the  standpoint  of  the  usefulness  of  the  trained  nurse  as 
guide  and  teacher  will  be  necessary  before  the  problem 
can  be  satisfactorily  solved.  Nurses  available  for  this 
purpose  can  be  recruited  from  the  various  organizations 
which  at  present  employ  such  service.  The  departments 
of  health  in  some  of  our  cities  have  nurses  attached  to  their 
staff  of  officials ;    some  cities  have  visiting  nurse  associa- 

1  Report  of  New  York  Association  for  Improving  the  Condition  of 
the  Poor,  1906,  p.  76. 


84  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

tions  maintained  by  private  charity ;  some  charity  organi- 
zation societies  employ  nurses  directly ;  some  settlements 
also  maintain  one  or  more  nurses,  and  many  dispensaries 
command  the  services  of  the  trained  nurse.  Some  or  all 
of  these  agencies  will  have  to  be  used  in  the  near  future. 
The  work  must  be  done  by  employing  these  nurses  as  agents 
consciously  bent  upon  the  removal  of  the  ignorance  and 
carelessness  of  parents  in  respect  to  infant  care  and  man- 
agement. To  be  successful  permanently,  instruction  must 
also  be  furnished  to  prospective  as  well  as  to  actual  mothers. 
The  general  level  of  knowledge  can  only  be  raised  through 
the  use  of  rigid  educational  measures.  As  the  social  ser- 
vice work  of  our  more  progressive  hospitals  expands  in 
volume,  direct  attention  will  be  paid  not  only  to  the  sick 
child,  but  also  to  the  proper  methods  of  prevention  of 
disease.  The  school  nurse  whose  field  of  employment  is 
not  limited  to  the  school  will  also  become  a  factor  in  trans- 
forming the  conditions  of  the  home,  where  she  will  be  sent 
to  follow  up  cases  and  to  give  instruction. 

4.  The  Day  Nursery. 

The  day  nursery  has  a  limited  value  in  educating  mothers, 
but  the  total  number  of  children  cared  for  at  the  nurseries 
is  insignificant  compared  with  the  absolute  number  of 
children  who  are  in  need  of  more  intelligent  care.  The 
nursery  is  patronized  almost  exclusively  by  women  who 
work  away  from  home,  yet  thousands  of  mothers  do  not 
enter  the  gainful  occupations,  and  the  influence  of  the  nur- 
sery does  not  reach  them.  This  influence  usually  operates 
through  the  children  who  are  daily  fed  and  cared  for  and 
who  reflect  at  home  the  conditions  and  high  standards 
of  the  nursery.  Indirectly  therefore  the  nursery  trans- 
forms the  life  and  ideals  of  a  limited  number  of  homes, 
but  its  work  as  a  child-saving  agency  has  not  yet  reached 


METHODS  OF  DECREASING  MORTALITY       85 

its  full  development.  Its  direct  beneficiaries  are,  however, 
limited  to  small  children,  and  the  infant  gains  only  indi- 
rectly from  the  new  ideals  established  in  the  homes. 

5.  Education  of  Girls. 

Our  educational  system  needs  revision,  and  the  curricu- 
lum of  the  school  must  be  made  to  conform  more  nearly  to 
the  actual  requirements  of  our  complex  hfe  of  to-day.  Our 
emphasis  upon  literary  education  is  gradually  being  dis- 
placed by  an  insistence  upon  training  which  will  equip 
the  growing  boy  and  girl  for  industrial  and  trade  oppor- 
tunities. The  economic  needs  are  being  supplied,  but  the 
social  aspects  of  education  have  not  received  sufficient 
encouragement.  It  is  important  to  train  children  for  the 
varied  duties  of  life,  and  our  young  men  and  young  women 
must  learn  more  about  the  requirements  and  needs  of  the 
home  and  of  home  life.  Domestic  science,  the  art  of  house- 
keeping, proper  uses  of  food,  the  importance  of  cleanliness, 
hygiene,  and  sanitation,  and  other  items  of  value  should 
become  part  of  the  instruction  of  every  young  woman. 
Such  instruction  is  so  fundamental  that  it  should  rank 
as  a  most  important  preventive  measure. 

Domestic  science  must  soon  form  part  of  the  curriculum 
in  every  elementary  school.  It  should  be  made  compul- 
sory for  every  girl  in  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades,  and 
the  amount  of  ground  covered  during  these  two  grades 
ought  to  be  sufficient  to  enable  a  young  woman  to  learn 
all  the  rudiments  necessary  to  begin  a  home  on  an  intelli- 
gent basis.  A  very  large  percentage  of  public  school  pupils 
leave  school  before  they  reach  these  grades,  many  leaving 
at  the  end  of  the  fifth  year.  The  loss  during  the  sixth  year 
is  also  very  heavy.  Provision  of  some  kind  for  these  chil- 
dren is  imperative,  for  it  is  precisely  this  class  that  swells 
the  aggregate  of  undesirable  elements  in  our  large  cities. 
Compulsory  education  will  reach  all  who  are  not  over-aged, 


86  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

but  the  latter  form  a  special  problem  and  can  not  be  neg- 
lected. Either  they  must  be  given  the  training  in  special 
classes,  or  they  must  be  held  at  school  until  they  have  had 
the  needed  training.  The  group  of  girls  most  in  need  of 
the  training  afforded  by  domestic  science  and  household 
economy  are  least  liable  to  be  reached  by  the  present 
halting  methods  of  instruction.  The  majority  of  cities 
have  done  little  for  the  cause  of  domestic  science,  and 
therefore  the  fundamental  cause  of  parental  ignorance  still 
remains.  Domestic  science  in  the  high  school  should  be 
encouraged,  and  it  will  be  a  source  of  pleasure  and  also  of 
profit  to  the  high  school  girl.  Instruction  in  this  branch, 
however,  does  not  benefit  the  children  of  the  poor,  because 
they  do  not  reach  the  high  school ;  and  effective  preventive 
work  for  the  child  of  the  coming  generation  can  be  per- 
formed only  by  educating  the  girl  and  boy  who  are  most 
in  need  of  the  training  which  these  branches  will  yield. 
The  introduction  of  such  courses  into  the  secondary  schools 
is  only  a  palliative,  and  can  in  no  way  be  regarded  as  a  cure. 
Our  schools  are  strangely  lacking  in  their  provisions  for 
instruction  in  household  economy,  and  the  need  of  reform 
is  urgent  and  immediate. 

6.  Training  of  Boys. 

Boys  likewise  need  additional  training,  especially  in 
hygienic  methods  and  sanitation.  The  value  of  nature's 
curative  forces  and  regenerative  agencies  must  be  taught 
in  order  to  give  the  boy  a  proper  appreciation  of  the  danger 
and  injury  incident  to  insanitary  housing  conditions.  The 
uses  of  fresh  air,  the  germ-destroying  power  of  sunlight, 
the  effects  of  contamination  of  air,  the  influence  of  gases, 
standards  in  regard  to  sufficient  air  space,  and  other  neces- 
sary knowledge  relating  to  proper  housing  conditions  must 
be  effectually  taught  to  all  young  boys.  The  meager 
knowledge  gained  at  present  in  the  study  of  physiology 


METHODS  OF  DECREASING  MORTALITY       87 

is  entirely  insufficient,  and  an  extension  of  this  study,  by 
taking  up  the  lines  indicated,  is  necessary ;  otherwise  the 
instruction  must  be  given  as  a  separate  branch  of  the  work 
of  the  school.  Whatever  be  the  course  followed,  it  must  be 
judged  from  the  standpoint  of  efficiency.  The  knowledge 
which  makes  for  better  homes  and  more  sanitary  houses, 
and  which  will  accordingly  save  the  lives  of  thousands  of 
babies,  must  be  acquired  before  the  homes  are  formed  and 
before  babies  are  born.  If  this  is  not  done,  children  will 
always  be  the  victims  of  parental  ignorance  and  neglect. 
The  evening  school,  with  its  classes  in  appropriate  subjects 
for  both  young  men  and  young  women,  and  the  classes 
formed  in  settlements  and  other  institutions  which  strive 
to  meet  this  deficiency  in  the  education  of  the  child,  reach 
a  small  number  of  persons  only  and  can  not  adequateld 
meet  the  situation.  Furthermore,  this  work  is,  or  shouly 
be,  considered  a  mere  temporary  expedient,  to  be  aban- 
doned when  the  elementary  schools  expand  their  functions 
so  as  to  include  home  science  among  the  subjects  taught. 
However,  a  temporary  expansion  of  the  work  of  these 
classes  should  be  cordially  welcomed,  because  the  public 
school  does  not  now  meet  the  needs  of  a  large  bulk  of  our 
growing  youth,  and  many  anticipated  reforms  are  not  yet 
being  reahzed. 

7.  Municipal  Campaigns  against  Infant  Mortality. 

Special  campaigns  of  education  in  our  large  cities  can 
do  something  to  mitigate  the  evil  of  infant  mortality.  The 
boards  of  health,  through  the  physicians  whom  they  detail 
for  work  in  the  slums,  can  educate  parents,  or  the  boards 
can  teach  the  latter  directly  in  appropriate  ways.  Cam- 
paigns of  this  sort  should  be  carried  on  during  the  hot 
weather  especially,  but  should  not  be  confined  to  the  summer 
months,  because  the  problem  of  care  in  the  winter  season 
and  of  protection  from  exposure  also  demands  attention. 


88  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

Private  agencies  should  introduce  effective  methods  of 
propaganda ;  but  the  cities  should  so  enlarge  the  scope  of 
their  work  as  to  spread  effectually  the  desired  information 
among  the  poor. 

8.  Prevention  of  Overcrowding. 

FataHties  among  children  depend  in  part  on  the  bad 
housing  conditions  of  a  city.  The  nature  of  overcrowding 
which  is  most  dangerous  to  the  susceptible  child  is  the 
crowding  of  a  large  number  of  persons  into  a  single  flat 
or  group  of  rooms.  The  density  per  acre  may  be  very 
heavy,  yet  the  conditions  under  which  the  individual  fam- 
ilies live  accord  with  all  the  demands  of  sanitation  and 
cleanliness.  Tenement  houses  well  cared  for  and  well 
inspected  by  the  city  authorities  may  house  a  dense  popu- 
lation without  special  injury  or  excessive  suffering  to  the 
indwellers.  This  is  particularly  true  if  houses  are  built 
according  to  the  best  modern  models.  In  actual  practice, 
however,  a  heavy  per  acre  density  is  usually  associated 
with  tenement  house  conditions  of  the  worst  type,  the  size 
of  the  families  of  the  better  classes  being  uniformly  smaller 
and  the  families  themselves  refusing  to  submit  to  such 
crowding.  Congestion  invariably  means  poor  conditions 
and  inadequate  equipment. 

Investigations  have  made  quite  plain  the  following 
propositions  in  regard  to  the  effects  of  crowding  :  first,  the 
mortahty  of  a  population  increases  as  the  density  per  acre 
is  increased,  and  is  considerably  higher  when  a  very  heavy 
density  obtains.  Second,  mortality  is  much  less  if  single 
tenement  houses  only  are  built  upon  the  lots  than  if  front 
and  rear  tenements  exist.  Statistics  for  New  York  City 
(old)  show  that  the  mortality  of  children  under  five  was 
nearly  twice  as  high  in  the  latter  type  of  buildings.  Third, 
mortahty  varies  inversely  according  to  the  number  of  rooms 


METHODS  OF  DECREASING  MORTALITY       89 

per  apartment.  English  figures  have  shown  that  the  one- 
room  apartment  is  nearly  twice  as  fatal  as  the  four-room 
apartment.  This  form  of  overcrowding  is  bj^  far  the  most 
dangerous  to  life  and  health,  as  it  is  directly  related  to  the 
problem  of  adequate  air  space,  especially  for  sleeping  pur- 
poses. It  also  prevents  the  enjoyment  of  sufficient  sun- 
light and  ventilation.  It  is  especially  under  such  con- 
ditions that  a  large  infant  mortality  ensues.  It  becomes 
impossible  to  provide  the  child  with  a  sufficient  amount  of 
nature's  curative  forces  and  properties.  It  has  been  shown 
that  in  Vienna,  Austria,  when  8  per  cent  of  the  population 
was  overcrowded  the  mortahty  increased  more  than  100 
per  cent  above  the  normal  and  that  all  overcrowding  was 
accompanied  by  a  high  rate  of  mortality. ^  The  noxious 
influence  of  overcrowding  upon  the  life  and  health  of  the 
young  child  is  well  known.  There  remains  only  the  prob- 
lem of  ascertaining  the  precise  influence  of  this  factor  in 
order  that  our  cities  may  become  more  resolute  in  providing 
and  demanding  sufficient  air  and  room.  Reform  in  housing 
conditions,  including  the  building  of  wholesome  tenements 
and  the  proper  inspection  of  all  tenements,  is  urgently 
needed,  as  well  as  insistence  upon  better  conditions  in 
and  about  the  two-family  houses,  especially  in  regard  to 
plumbing,  sewage,  garbage  disposal,  closets,  etc. 

9.  Prevention  of  Employment  of  Married  Women. 

An  additional  method  of  lessening  our  infant  mortality 
consists  in  reducing  the  number  of  married  women  em- 
ployed in  factories,  offices,  and  mercantile  establishments. 
In  1900  the  total  number  of  married  women  in  the  United 
States  engaged  in  the  gainful  occupations  was  769,477,  or 
5.6  per  cent  of  the  entire  number  of  married  women.  Al- 
though a  small  number,  it  represents  an  increase  of  one  per 

1  Bailey,  W.  B.,  Modern  Social  Conditions,  p.  323. 


90  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

cent  in  the  proportion  of  married  women  at  work  when 
compared  with  the  census  of  1890.  We  must  assume  there- 
fore that  the  tendency  is  in  favor  of  the  increased  use  of 
married  women  in  industry.  Our  heavy  recent  immi- 
gration from  Europe  has  increased  this  proportion,  although 
statistics  to  that  effect  have  not  yet  been  gathered.  Many 
Itahan,  Pohsh,  Bohemian,  and  French  Canadian  mothers 
are  at  present  employed  in  our  factories  and  workshops, 
and  therefore  are  compelled  to  neglect  their  children.  In 
Boston  recently  a  young  child  was  regularly  brought  to 
one  of  the  factories  of  the  city  at  noon  to  be  nursed  by  the 
mother  during  her  intermission  from  work.  In  Fall  River 
a  large  percentage  of  the  married  women  are  at  work  in 
the  cotton  mills ;  the  infant  mortaHty  in  this  city  is  not 
only  very  high,  but  it  exceeds  that  of  every  American  city 
having  a  population  of  100,000  or  more.  The  rates  for 
diarrhea  and  enteritis  are  also  disproportionately  high. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  of  the  causal  relation  between  this 
high  mortality  and  the  presence  of  mothers  in  the  factories. 

10.   Suppression  of  otherICauses  of  Mortality. 

The  immorality  of  many  men  and  the  consequent  in- 
fliction of  disease  upon  their  offspring  is  responsible  for  a 
growing  proportion  of  infant  and  child  deaths.  Innocent 
women  are  frequent  victims  of  such  men,  but  the  peril  to 
children  is  perhaps  the  graver,  because  deformity  or  death 
is  the  frequent  penalty. 

Poverty  and  mal-feeding  are  causes  of  atrophy,  and 
many  underfed  and  emaciated  children  can  be  daily  seen  in 
our  large  hospitals.  The  chief  blame  for  this  suffering, 
however,  rests  with  the  parents.  Their  ignorance  is  often 
responsible  for  the  method  of  feeding  which  entails  such 
serious  consequences  upon  the  child.  Absolute  poverty 
is  less  often  the  cause  of  death  than  is  malnutrition. 


METHODS  OF  DECREASING  MORTALITY       91 

11.  Summary. 

In  addition  to  the  improvement  of  the  milk  supply,  the 
chief  remedies  for  our  excessive  infant  and  child  mortality 
may  be  summarized  as  follows :  the  education  of  mothers 
as  to  the  superiority  of  breast  feeding;  instruction  of 
parents,  especially  mothers,  concerning  the  value  of  good 
food,  fresh  air,  sunlight,  clean  water,  ventilation,  and  out- 
door exercise ;  instruction  of  young  women  in  the  art  of 
domestic  economy  and  personal  hygiene  and  of  young  men 
in  hygiene  and  proper  sanitation ;  diffusion  of  knowledge 
relative  to  malnutrition  and  improper  feeding ;  increased 
caution  against  exposure  of  young  children ;  improvement 
of  the  housing  conditions  of  the  poor ;  day  nurseries  for 
the  children  of  women  who  must  work,  though  efforts 
should  be  made  to  diminish  the  number  of  married  women 
in  industry ;  and  higher  ideals  of  personal  purity,  especially 
among  boys  and  men. 


BOOK  II 

RECENT  ASPECTS  OF  EDUCATIONAL 
REFORM 


CHAPTER  I 

PLAT 


1.  Introduction. 


All  of  our  four-footed  friends  of  the  higher  orders  indulge 
in  play  while  young,  and  to  them  it  is  a  most  valuable  ex- 
perience in  their  training  for  life.  Whatever  be  the  correct 
theory  of  play  —  that  it  is  practice  in  the  Hne  of  future 
methods  of  conduct,  that  it  is  simply  the  discharge  of  the 
surplus  energy  of  the  young,  or  that  it  is  for  the  purpose 
of  relaxation  and  recreation  only  —  whatever  theory  be 
adopted,  the  inestimable  value  of  play  to  the  child  and  to 
the  nation  can  not  be  gainsaid.  Play  is  an  irrepressible 
method  of  self-expression.  Fortunately  the  absolute  pre- 
vention of  play  is  impossible.  It  is  one  of  nature's  gifts, 
and  needs  only  to  be  utilized  aright  and  so  directed  as  to 
become  of  the  maximum  service  to  the  growing  boy  and 
giri. 

2.  Physical  Effects  op  Play. 

Play  touches  every  phase  of  the  development  of  youth. 
The  effects  are  not  only  physical,  but  mental,  moral,  and 
social  as  well.  As  all  children  play  somewhere,  the  physical 
effect  of  ordinary  play  need  not  be  discussed,  but  that  of 
the  supervised  playground  is  an  important  object  of  in- 
quiry. Well-organized  play  results  in  a  symmetrical  de- 
velopment of  the  body  through  the  use  of  such  games  and 
modes  of  exercise  as  will  bring  into  activity  the  largest 
possible  variety  of   nuscles.    No  single  game  exercises 

95 


96  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

and  develops  all  the  muscles  of  the  body,  therefore  a  vari- 
ety alone  will  afford  the  opportunity  of  complete  develop- 
ment. Furthermore  the  use  of  the  same  game  becomes 
monotonous  and  repels  the  player.  The  total  disuse  of 
an  organ  tends  to  atrophy  it,  and  a  reasonable  exercise  of 
all  organs  is  necessary  to  promote  the  symmetrical  develop- 
ment of  the  young  child. 

The  child  of  the  slum  suffers  from  the  disadvantage  of 
insanitary  surroundings,  and  is  dwarfed  and  stunted  by 
their  effects  upon  his  plastic  body  and  mind.  Without 
facilities  for  play  on  open  areas  where  reasonably  fresh  air 
can  be  secured,  he  can  not  develop  properly.  Accordingly 
the  people  of  the  poorer  sections  of  the  cities  are  smaller 
in  stature  and  physically  weaker  than  those  living  in  the 
better  sections.  For  example,  a  difference  of  three  inches 
in  height  between  the  wealthy  and  the  East  End  Jew  of  Lon- 
don illustrates  the  consequences  of  a  bad  environment. 
In  Glasgow  the  slum  population,  although  composed  of 
similar  racial  elements,  is  about  four  inches  shorter  than  the 
people  of  the  surrounding  country  regions  —  an  eloquent 
commentary  upon  the  physique-destroying  powers  of  the 
slums.  Organized  play  on  ample  playgrounds  furnished 
by  our  cities  will  militate  against  this  insidious  enemy  of 
mankind.  The  physical  organ  in  need  of  special  care  can 
thus  be  developed,  normal  stature  and  strength  be  acquired, 
and  a  greater  capacity  for  survival  be  evolved. 


3.  Play  and  Tubebculosis. 

One  of  the  diseases  against  which  special  inroads  can 
be  made  by  the  establishment  of  organized  play  is  tuber- 
culosis. A  disease  of  filth,  it  will  long  remain  with  us,  and 
a  development  of  resisting  power  in  the  individual  is  ab- 
solutely necessary.  The  play  of  growing  children  under 
good  surroundings  will,  more  than  any  other  agency,  pre- 


PLAY  97 

pare  the  child  for  the  struggle  with  this  disease.  Although 
the  greatest  prevalence  of  tuberculosis  is  during  the  adult 
period  of  life,  notably  between  the  thirtieth  and  fortieth 
years,  the  time  for  preparation  against  the  disease  is  during 
childhood.  Proper  development  of  the  appropriate  organs 
forms  a  splendid  asset  for  the  individual  when  he  is  later 
dangerously  exposed  to  the  tubercular  germ.  Play  as  a 
precautionary  measure  cannot  be  urged  too  strongly,  es- 
pecially for  weakly  and  subnormal  children. 

4.  The  Social  Values  of  Play. 

The  social  and  moral  influences  of  play  produce  indelible 
effects  upon  the  child  mind.  All  play  is  didactic,  and 
leaves  its  traces  for  good  or  bad  as  the  case  may  be.  Un- 
organized and  spontaneous  play  often  develops  the  bully 
and  the  coward ;  systematic  play  minimizes  these  defects 
and  impresses  the  ideals  taught  by  organization  and  co- 
operation. The  recognition  of  mutual  rights  is  one  of  its 
initial  values.  These  rights  are  but  little  understood  by 
the  unthinking  child  and,  when  brute  force  permits,  are 
often  entirely  overthrown  or  perverted  into  a  mere  tolera- 
tion of  privileges.  Few  children  are  spontaneously  gen- 
erous ;  the  majority  are  selfish  and  require  companionship 
to  soften  their  egoism.  On  the  supervised  playground, 
a  new  regime  is  put  into  operation.  The  right  to  the  use 
of  the  sand  pile  can  not  be  monopolized  by  any  ambitious 
player.  All  things  are  held  in  common,  and  every  child 
must  be  granted  an  equal  opportunity.  So  with  the  use 
of  swings,  of  ladders,  and  of  every  device  for  the  child's 
enjoyment.  In  the  games  no  group  of  children  can  usurp 
all  the  privileges.  Each  individual  learns  that  others 
have  rights  that  must  be  respected,  and  that  these  in  turn 
must  have  due  consideration  for  his  own  rights. 

The  development  of  the  idea  of  mutual  rights  possesses 
a  profound  significance  for  the  growth  of  a  healthy  citizen- 


98  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

ship.  Our  rapidly  increasing  density  of  population  and 
the  increasing  number  of  contacts  which  it  involves  de- 
mand new  limitations  of  rights  and  a  more  ample  recog- 
nition of  the  exact  boundaries  of  the  rights  of  the  indi- 
vidual. Failure  in  municipal  government  and  failure  in 
other  public  activities  can  in  part  be  remedied  by  learn- 
ing both  the  extent  of,  and  the  limitation  of,  individual 
rights.  Play  therefore  becomes  a  most  important  school 
of  citizenship,  and  supplies  the  child  with  one  of  his  most 
urgent  needs.  Allied  to  the  development  of  mutual  rights 
is  the  growth  of  self-control,  which  is  a  natural  consequence 
of  the  former.  The  social  results  which  follow  are  expressed 
in  such  ethical  values  as  order,  obedience,  self-denial,  and 
discipHne.  Coordination,  or  the  spirit  of  teamwork,  also 
develops.  Unless  the  child  observes  proper  restraint,  he 
can  not  succeed  as  a  member  of  a  baseball  nine  or  a  foot- 
ball eleven  or  of  any  other  group  of  which  the  individual 
forms  a  necessary  part.  The  teamwork  which  enables  a 
body  of  school  children  to  outwit  a  fire  in  the  building 
is  fostered  by  well-conducted  play.  The  soldier  boy  can 
be  almost  instantly  detected  by  his  carriage.  The  team 
work  of  play  develops  a  characteristic  most  necessary  for 
the  success  of  our  democratic  experiment. 

The  self-repression,  not  self-effacement,  which  develops 
from  the  influence  of  play,  makes  obedience  something 
more  than  unwilling  subordination.  It  becomes  respect 
for  authority  as  well  as  deference  for  the  welfare  of  the 
group.  A  sense  of  the  value  and  of  the  uses  of  order  is 
accordingly  developed,  and  this  becomes  the  mainstay 
of  social  stability.  Order  in  government  and  in  society 
has  its  counterpart  in  the  harmonious  organization  of  play. 
Whether  or  not  men  shall  be  successful  in  the  control  of 
government,  depends  upon  their  training,  and  the  values 
which  play  inculcates  will  form  no  mean  part  in  the  solu- 
tion of  this  question. 


PLAY  99 

Play  also  emphasizes  the  importance  of  the  group  as 
contrasted  with  the  worth  of  the  individual.  The  latter 
soon  learns  that  group  life  is  more  desirable  than  isolation. 
Consequently  his  activities  must  make  the  cooperation 
of  others  attractive.  The  group  becomes  predominant 
for  two  reasons :  first,  it  is  necessary  to  interest  the  indi- 
vidual and  supply  him  with  the  desired  pleasures  ;  second, 
the  group  must  be  preferred  in  order  that  the  individual 
pleasures  may  not  perish.  The  success  of  the  team  is  more 
important  than  the  brilliant  achievements  of  a  single  player. 
Accordingly  the  necessary  concessions  to  the  interests  of 
the  group  demand  certain  sacrifices  of  the  individual. 
An  ethical  quality  of  unmistakable  value  is  thus  developed. 
This  use  of  play  is  in  direct  harmony  with  the  present  social 
needs,  which  emphasize  the  group  at  the  apparent  but  not 
real  cost  of  the  individual. 

The  growth  of  the  instinct  of  cooperation  is  perhaps 
the  most  valuable  result  of  play.  Cooperation  is  the  ideal 
of  the  democratic  movement,  and  capacity  in  this  direction 
needs  further  enlargement.  Ability  to  cooperate  spells 
ability  to  excel.  Absence  of  this  power  means  ultimate 
disorganization  and  disorder.  Practice  in  accomplishing 
a  given  task  together  impresses  boys  or  girls  with  the  im- 
mense value  of  concerted  action.  Things  must  be  done 
in  unison.  Every  person  takes  part,  no  one  can  be  omitted. 
The  individual  begins  to  learn  that  he  is  necessary  for 
pleasure,  and  also  that  without  his  sane  cooperation  neither 
he  nor  his  associates  will  be  able  to  enjoy  themselves. 
Thus  through  practice  and  sheer  necessity  capacity  for 
cooperation  develops.  The  citizen  will  not  govern  wisely 
until  he  learns  the  value  of  cooperation  and  until  he  feels 
himself  a  part  of  the  government.  If  government  is  only 
moderately  successful,  he  must  feel  the  disparagement ;  if 
it  fails,  he  must  participate  in  the  disgrace  ;  if  it  succeeds, 
he  may  rejoice  in  the  accomplishment  as  he  would  if  it  were 


100  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

entirely  his  own.  Good  government  depends  upon  a  coop- 
eration so  intense  that  each  accomplishment  will  inevi- 
tably reflect  itself  in  the  attitude  of  the  individual.  The 
successful  adjustment  of  the  individual  characteristics  to 
those  of  a  group  so  as  to  make  interrelations  possible  is 
a  prime  task  of  the  playground  and  can  nowhere  else  re- 
ceive equal  encouragement  and  development.  Play  will 
improve  the  good  citizenship  of  a  nation,  and  therefore 
becomes  a  wise  and  safe  form  of  social  insurance  and  a 
guarantee  of  better  government. 

One  possible  influence  of  play  is  less  reassuring ;  unless 
it  is  carefully  carried  on,  an  unhealthful  development  of 
the  gang  spirit  may  result.  The  absence  of  complete  de- 
mocracy tends  to  segregate  the  children  into  antagonistic 
groups  among  whom  a  spirit  of  intolerance  may  arise. 
Base  leaders  appear,  and  these  dominate  the  actions  of  the 
gang,  which  panders  to  the  baser  instincts  that  are  present 
on  the  playground.  The  heterogeneous  elements  will, 
if  amalgamating  influences  are  absent,  form  numerous 
gangs  in  which  the  spirit  of  true  cooperation  will  fail  and 
intrigue  as  well  as  enmity  will  control  action.  The  prin- 
ciple of  complete  self-government  can  not  be  successfully 
applied  to  immature  minds,  and  play,  in  order  to  conserve 
its  good  effects  and  to  eliminate  its  evil  propensities,  must 
be  properly  supervised. 

5.  Mental  Value  of  Play. 

The  child  can  not  play  without  receiving  mental  influ- 
ences of  various  kinds.  Play  is  not  only  educational,  but 
stimulates  the  capacity  for  mental  growth.  The  backward 
child  through  the  influence  of  judiciously  prescribed  play 
accelerates  his  feeble  intellectual  development  and  becomes 
capable  of  better  work.  The  normal  child  adds  new 
mental  qualities,  such  as  initiative,  alertness,  mental  ability, 
and  foresight.     The  need  of  alertness  stimulates  the  child 


PL^V    •     -  101 

to  activity,  and  the  task  of  solving  the  problems  which 
every  play  presents  requires  a  fresh  display  of  initiative 
for  each  added  instance.  The  quality  of  leadership  devel- 
ops, and  this  [involves  the  use  of  the  calculating  faculties 
and  requires  constant  planning  and  the  use  of  judgment. 
Play  does  not  imply  complete  mental  relaxation ;  the  men- 
tal development  which  it  occasions  is  merely  hidden  be- 
hind a  mass  of  pleasurable  sensations.  The  advantages 
of  properly  conducted  play  have  a  value  far  in  excess  of 
the  energy  and  cost  required  for  adequate  supervision. 
Therefore  the  ethical  values  of  play  must  be  carefully 
guarded,  and  its  consequences  must  receive  the  attention 
of  every  student  of  society.  The  playground  movement 
is  alive  with  tremendous  social  possibilities. 

6.   Recent  Appreciation  of  Play. 

Until  recent  years  the  value  of  play  has  not  received  due 
consideration.  The  majority  of  parents,  and  of  teachers 
as  well,  have  regarded  the  play  of  the  child  as  a  natural 
but  somewhat  useless  activity.  Parents  often  prevent 
their  children,  especially  the  older  ones,  from  indulging  in 
play  because  they  do  not  understand  its  character-building 
qualities  and  believe  it  a  mere  waste  of  time.  As  a  needed 
relief  from  the  confinement  and  concentration  of  the  school- 
room, its  usefulness  has,  however,  been  generally  accepted. 
The  physical  effects  of  play  received  the  first  recognition, 
and  its  social  and  moral  effects  were  unobserved  until 
some  of  their  necessary  consequences  became  too  patent 
to  remain  hidden  from  the  view  of  the  sociologist  and  the 
morahst.  That  some  of  the  world's  great  teachers  have 
long  since  recognized  the  uses  of  play  is  true,  but  the  popu- 
lar mind  has  not  followed  them,  and  the  discovery  had 
to  be  made  anew. 

The  present  attitude  toward  play  is  a  mark  of  the  chang- 
ing tendency  in  regard  to  our  many  social  problems.     The 


102  CfelLp  EpOBLEMS 

social  reformer  finds  that  play  and  the  playground  are 
powerful  agencies  which,  if  carefully  used,  will  accomplish 
much  good.  The  potential  criminal  of  the  slums  must  be 
transformed  into  a  law-abiding  citizen,  and  the  indifferent 
must  become  zealous  in  the  cause  of  reform.  The  depleted 
physique  of  the  children  of  the  poor  must  be  renewed,  and 
their  intellectual  and  moral  improvement  be  required. 
The  riotous  child  of  the  street  and  the  gang  of  the  dismal 
alley  must  be  reclaimed  and  their  energies  directed  toward 
nobler  standards  of  living.  The  accomplishment  of  these 
results  is  the  aim  and  hope  of  the  advocates  of  the  play- 
ground movement.  The  results  of  the  meager  efforts  made 
to  promote  play  have  partially  justified  this  optimism. 
The  social  attitude  toward  play  is  now  a  healthful  and 
hopeful  one,  but  the  problem  is  serious,  owing  to  the  diffi- 
culties which  are  naturally  involved  in  the  realization  of 
comprehensive  plans. 


CHAPTER   II 
the  playground  movement 

1.  The  Play  Problem. 

Play  is  an  easy  problem  after  the  facilities  for  play  are 
provided.  Boys  and  girls  can  always  be  discovered  in 
sufficient  numbers  to  use  the  grounds,  but  the  practical 
difficulty  hes  in  capacity  to  acquire  adequate  playgrounds 
and  equipment.  In  some  cities  the  need  of  room  for  the 
school  child  was  hardly  considered  until  recently.  Ac- 
cordingly many  school  buildings  are  entirely  without 
attached  playgrounds  for  children,  who  must  either  re- 
frain from  play  or  indulge  their  recreational  instincts  in 
the  streets.  The  schoolhouses  of  the  slum  districts  have 
been  the  chief  sufferers,  although  these  localities  are  pre- 
cisely the  ones  in  which  the  needs  are  greatest.  New 
York  City  has  school  buildings  for  which  no  provision 
whatever  has  been  made  for  surface  playgrounds.  In 
Philadelphia  the  recent  facilities  for  a  certain  school  con- 
sisted of  a  little  slope  used  by  the  boys  as  an  inchne  on 
which  they  slid  down  upon  the  street-car  track.  In  nu- 
merous instances  in  the  large  cities  the  entire  space  available 
for  play  purposes  consists  of  a  few  square  feet  of  ground 
directly  in  front  of  the  school  building.  This  is  often 
very  scrupulously  paved  over  with  brick,  which  makes 
play  unattractive  and  leaves  the  children  without  oppor- 
tunity to  enjoy  themselves  except  upon  the  street. 

In  New  York  City,  owing  to  the  character  of  both  the 
tenement  houses  and  the  school  buildings,  much  progress 

103 


104  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

has  recently  been  made  in  transforming  the  roofs  of  the 
latter  into  suitable  playgrounds.  A  number  of  distinct 
advantages  arise  from  this  solution  of  the  problem.  The 
streets  are  so  narrow  and  the  amount  of  space  that  could 
be  procured  is  so  small  and  inadequate  that  the  roof  play- 
ground affords  more  real  space  than  could  otherwise  be 
obtained.  In  this  way  the  children  avoid  the  demoralizing 
influences  and  the  contaminated  air  of  the  streets,  and  enjoy 
an  abundance  of  health-giving  sunlight.  The  roof  of  the 
building  is  covered  with  wire  netting  so  as  to  make  acci- 
dents impossible.  The  playground  is  sometimes  accom- 
panied by  a  small  roof  garden.  This  is  used  for  ex- 
periments in  the  cultivation  of  flowers  and  vegetables. 
Several  other  cities  have  begun  to  copy  this  plan  of  provid- 
ing playgrounds  and  recreation. 

In  the  foreign  sections  of  the  large  cities,  where  over- 
crowding is  common,  the  streets  are  in  actual  practice 
used  to  a  considerable  extent  by  both  boys  and  girls  for 
purposes  of  play.  Some  of  the  asphalt-covered  streets 
on  the  lower  East  Side  in  New  York  City  are  very  useful 
to  the  small  children  who  have  inadequate  facihties  for 
play  elsewhere.  The  authorities  are  generous  to  the  child, 
and  do  not  drive  every  fun-loving  urchin  from  the  street ; 
accordingly  the  streets  little  used  for  wagon  traffic  become 
the  favorite  resort  not  only  of  children  but  of  persons  of 
all  ages.  An  attempt  is  likewise  made  to  limit  the  trafl&c 
as  much  as  possible  to  certain  streets,' and  this  precaution- 
ary measure  increases  the  breathing  space  of  the  inhabitant 
of  the  slums.  The  indifference  with  which  both  sidewalks 
and  streets  are  used  by  pedestrians  illustrates  the  indul- 
gence of  the  city  authorities.  The  condition  of  the  streets 
in  the  slum  districts  of  other  large  cities  is  such  that  the 
child  can  not  use  them  so  readily  and  successfully  as  in 
New  York.  Unless  streets  are  better  paved  and  cared 
for  than  they  are  in  the  typical  slum,  they  give  the  children 


THE  PLAYGROUND  MOVEMENT  105 

very  inferior  service.  Furthermore,  the  associations  fre- 
quently demoralize  and  corrupt  the  players. 

The  numerous  vacant  lots  in  many  cities  are  temporarily 
turned  into  playgrounds  by  the  boys  of  the  neighborhood. 
In  some  cases  the  permission  of  the  authorities  is  necessary 
before  these  places  can  be  used  for  play  purposes.  This 
is  quite  readily  secured,  however,  and  thus  the  playground 
room  of  a  city  can  be  enormously  extended  beyond  the 
meager  facilities  directly  under  municipal  and  philan- 
thropic control.  Play  on  these  lots  is  not  supervised,  and 
is  conducted  by  the  boys  according  to  their  own  plans  and 
methods,  and  therefore  the  good  results  expected  from 
play  are  not  always  realized.  It  reheves  the  congestion 
of  the  streets,  however,  and  has  a  limited  value. 

The  fundamental  question  for  every  city  which  intends 
to  inaugurate  a  system  of  playgrounds  is  that  of  securing 
funds  for  the  purchase  of  the  grounds.  The  needed  recrea- 
tion centers,  if  established  at  all,  must  be  created  in  the 
localities  where  children  can  use  them.  In  the  crowded 
quarters  of  the  city  the  cost  of  real  estate  is  high,  and  very 
little  vacant  space  can  be  found.  The  cost  of  acquiring 
a  small  plot  of  ground  in  such  a  district  is  almost  pro- 
hibitive, so  less  expensive  centers  are  sometimes  secured. 
No  city  can  establish  a  system  of  playgrounds  except  at 
a  considerable  cost,  but  the  benefits  of  the  enterprise 
measured  in  the  gain  from  investment  in  character,  morals, 
and  social  spirit,  are  well  worth  the  financial  expenditure 
which  is  involved. 

2.  Origin  of  the  Movement. 

The  playground  movement  in  the  United  States  is  a 
recent  development.  The  idea  seems  to  have  been  bor- 
rowed from  the  city  of  Berlin,  where  small  sand  piles  had 
been  scattered  through  the  public  parks  for  the  purpose 
of  giving  the  children  an  opportunity  to  play.    Boston 


106  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

heard  about  this  innovation,  and  in  1886  two  religious 
societies  of  that  city  followed  the  Berlin  plan.  Since  then 
the  number  of  playgrounds  in  Boston  has  been  greatly  in- 
creased. Philadelphia  and  New  York  next  introduced 
playgrounds  of  various  kinds.  Nearly  all  of  the  large 
cities  now  give  some  attention  to  the  problem  and  are 
providing  a  limited  number  of  such  recreation  centers. 
The  most  rapid  strides  ,have  occurred  since  1900,  and  in 
the  last  decade  the  greatest  single  impetus  given  to  the 
movement  was  the  convention  of  the  National  Playground 
Association  at  Chicago  in  the  smnmer  of  1907.  A  second 
convention  was  held  in  New  York  City  the  following  year, 
when  twenty-nine  states  were  represented,  thus  indicating 
the  momentum  which  the  movement  had  acquired.  These 
two  congresses  resulted  in  the  formation  of  definite  organi- 
zation to  carry  on  the  work  of  providing  children  with 
the  necessary  recreational  facilities.  Systematic  agitation 
through  the  instrumentality  of  a  special  magazine  and  of 
pamphlet  literature  has  become  a  prominent  factor  in  the 
campaign.  Even  the  small  cities  are  now  beginning  to 
realize  their  shortcomings,  and  are  interested  in  the  move- 
ment. 

3.  Types  op  Playgrounds. 

Various  types  of  playgrounds  are  in  use,  and  some  of  the 
recreation  centers  are  intended  for  the  younger  as  well  as 
for  the  older  children.  The  type  of  playground  and  the 
method  of  its  control  vary  with  the  age  group  which  is  to 
be  accommodated.  The  park  for  small  children  as  found 
in  many  cities  is  a  distinct  type.  Some  parks  are  divided 
into  two  parts,  one  for  boys  and  the  other  for  girls ;  often 
an  entire  playground  is  limited  to  the  use  of  a  single  sex. 
Special  provision  is  sometimes  made  for  the  little  children, 
who  are  given  a  small  inclosed  space  into  which  the  others 
may  not  come.     Usually  these  playgrounds  contain  sand 


THE  PLAYGROUND  MOVEMENT  107 

gardens,  swings,  teeterboards,  and  some  additional  appa- 
ratus, besides  space  for  games  of  various  kinds.  In  the 
middle  of  the  sand  garden  is  a  covered  inclosure  contain- 
ing the  sand.  The  level  of  the  sand  pile  is  about  two  feet 
above  that  of  the  adjacent  ground,  and  the  sand  is  accessi- 
ble from  all  sides.  The  pile  is  perhaps  twenty  feet  long, 
and  about  half  as  wide.  Small  children  are  allowed  to  dig 
in  this  sand  pile,  and  are  carefully  watched  by  an  attendant 
so  that  no  accidents  may  occur  and  that  trouble  among 
the  children  may  be  avoided.  Some  opportunity  is  also 
given  for  digging  in  the  sand  and  in  the  garden  around  the 
inclosed  sand  pile.  Here  the  older  children  may  enjoy 
themselves.  The  swings  and  teeter  boards  may  be  out 
in  the  open  air  or  under  a  protecting  roof.  Some  of  the 
parks  are  provided  with  equipment  of  both  kinds.  In 
certain  parts  of  the  park  seats  are  provided  for  the  child 
mother,  who  may  rest  there  with  her  smaller  brothers  and 
sisters.  These  parks  usually  open  at  nine  o'clock  in  the 
morning  and  close  about  sunset,  and  are  in  use  through 
the  warmer  months  of  the  year  only.  Formerly  many 
of  them  were  mere  vacation  schools  operating  for  ten  or 
twelve  weeks  during  the  summer,  but  now  a  general  exten- 
sion of  the  time  has  been  granted. 

A  second  type  of  playground  accommodates  children  of 
all  ages,  and  therefore  contains  a  greater  measure  of  pro- 
vision for  the  older  boy,  who  does  not  dig  in  the  sand  nor 
play  baby  games.  In  addition  to  provision  for  the  small 
child,  opportunities  for  physical  exercise  are  given  to  both 
boys  and  girls,  and  appropriate  machinery  for  this  purpose 
is  furnished.  The  grounds  contain  poles,  ladders,  horizon- 
tal and  parallel  bars,  play-horses,  small  merry-go-rounds, 
and  other  apparatus.  The  boys  are  usually  better  provided 
with  the  means  of  enjojnnent  than  are  the  girls,  but  the 
latter  are  gradually  being  recognized.  This  type  of  play- 
ground is  not  usually  inclosed,  and  may  be  used  whenever 


108  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

the  condition  of  the  weather  allows.  Accordingly  on  a 
bright  winter  day  and  frequently  in  the  early  spring  these 
grounds  may  be  seen  covered  with  boys  eager  to  use  such 
playground  apparatus  as  may  be  allowed  to  remain  all 
winter.  In  the  summer  months  they  are  covered  far  into 
the  night  with  enthusiastic  children. 

The  ordinary  city  park  is  of  limited  service  to  the  child. 
The  inhabitants  of  the  slums  can  draw  but  little  comfort 
from  a  park  several  miles  away.  Fairmount  Park  in 
Philadelphia,  with  its  3000  acres  of  land,  is  hardly  used  by 
the  poor  child.  It  is  too  far  away.  Only  the  well-to-do 
can  afford  the  necessary  car  fares.  The  thousands  of  little 
children  seen  there  are  not  the  children  of  the  poorer  sec- 
tions of  the  city;  hence  the  park  has  a  limited  usefulness 
only.  Even  Central  Park,  on  the  narrow  island  of  Man- 
hattan, is  but  meager  relief  to  the  child  of  the  East  Side, 
and  it  can  attract  no  children  at  all  from  the  more  distant 
slum  sections.  Playgrounds  and  parks  for  small  children 
must  be  located  within  one  fourth  mile,  and  for  large 
children  within  one  half  mile  of  the  home  of  the  child.  In 
spite  of  their  many  prohibitions  parks  offer  a  large  oppor- 
tunity for  play  and  sport.  Games  of  many  kinds  can  be 
played,  but  the  chief  advantage  is  for  the  larger  boy  and 
girl  rather  than  for  the  small  child.  The  larger  and  better 
equipped  park  is  seldom  visited  by  the  poor  except  on  those 
rare  occasions  which  form  distinct  events  in  the  life  of  these 
people. 

In  New  York  and  in  a  few  additional  cities  recreation 
piers  have  been  established,  but  these  again  cater  to  the 
older  children  and  are  not  serviceable  for  the  smaller  ones. 
The  chief  source  of  enjoyment  here  consists  of  music,  which 
is  furnished  free  of  charge  by  the  cities,  as  is  often  done 
during  the  summer  months  in  many  of  the  parks.  The 
evening  recreation  centers  and  the  evening  roof  playgrounds 
of  New  York  City  are  additional  methods  of  providing 
recreation  for  children. 


THE  PLAYGROUND  MOVEMENT  109 

Progress  in  the  socialization  of  public  school  property 
has  resulted  in  the  increased  use  of  the  playground  at- 
tached to  the  school,  and  boards  of  education  are  beginning 
to  realize  the  importance  of  this  step.  These  grounds  are 
now  in  some  cities  open  to  children  after  school  hours, 
instead  of  being  closed  immediately  at  the  end  of  the  ses- 
sions of  the  day.  Children  may  therefore  remain  on  the 
grounds  instead  of  being  compelled  to  seek  the  doubtful 
opportunities  of  the  street.  Owing  to  the  absence  of  suit- 
able supervisors,  success  in  these  experiments  has  unfor- 
tunately not  been  sufficiently  marked.  Accordingly  dis- 
order has  been  common,  and  the  presence  of  the  rowdy 
element  and  of  the  bully  has  often  culminated  in  the  with- 
drawal of  the  self-respecting  child  from  the  yards.  In 
some  cities,  notably  in  New  York,  many  public  school 
buildings  are  open  in  the  evenings,  and  boys  and  girls 
enjoy  the  opportunities  afforded  by  the  recreational  facil- 
ities that  are  provided.  The  evening  use  of  pubHc  school 
property  is  not  only  desirable,  but  in  the  near  future  will 
be  required  in  the  interests  of  social  welfare. 

4.  The  Civic  Centers  of  Chicago. 

The  most  notable  recreation  center  in  the  United  States 
is  the  civic  center  of  Chicago,  which  comprises  a  small 
park  containing  a  finely  equipped  field  house.  The  idea 
took  form  in  1903,  when  the  South  Park  Commission  of 
Chicago  decided  to  establish  a  number  of  such  centers 
on  the  south  side  of  that  city,  and  within  four  years  ten 
civic  centers  were  erected.  A  typical  center  is  estab- 
lished at  a  cost  of  about  $220,000,  and  the  yearly  cost  of 
maintenance  amounts  to  approximately  $30,000.  These 
centers  comprise  an  area  in  some  cases  of  ten  acres  each, 
and  are  therefore  much  larger  than  the  ordinary  play- 
ground for  children.  However,  they  do  not  confine  their 
activities  to  the  needs  of  children,  and  many  adults  par- 


110  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

ticipate  in  the  advantages.  They  are  located  in  regions 
badly  in  need  of  play  facilities,  and  are  therefore,  with  some 
exceptions,  found  in  the  poorer  and  more  disagreeable 
parts  of  the  South  Side. 

The  grounds  were  secured  by  direct  purchase  of  the 
land ;  buildings  were  removed  and  the  parks  and  centers 
created.  The  grounds  are  inclosed,  and  contain  various 
buildings  and  an  exceedingly  good  equipment.  A  typical 
field  house  consists  of  a  large  assembly  hall  where  enter- 
tainments of  various  kinds  are  continually  held,  and  where 
dancing  parties  frequently  convene ;  a  boys'  gymnasium 
equipped  for  games,  especially  for  basketball  and  for 
physical  exercises ;  and  a  girls'  gymnasium  in  another 
part  of  the  building,  where  the  equipment  is  equally  ade- 
quate. The  building  shelters  one  of  the  branches  of  the 
public  library,  and  contains  many  clubrooms  used  by  adult 
persons  as  well  as  by  boys  and  girls.  An  indoor  swimming 
pool  is  a  valuable  feature  of  the  equipment,  and  a  large 
♦pool  is  found  just  outside  the  building.  This  is  used  by 
males  five  days  of  the  week,  while  on  two  days  its  use  is 
limited  to  females.  During  the  winter  months  facilities 
are  provided  for  indoor  play,  but  when  good  weather  ap- 
proaches, the  outdoor  equipment  is  more  generally  utilized. 

The  outdoor  facilities  consist  of  provisions  for  the  little 
children,  for  a  boys'  ground,  and  for  a  girls'  field.  The 
portion  allotted  to  the  small  child  contains  a  wading  pool 
absolutely  safe,  swings,  teeter  boards,  and  similar  appa- 
ratus, as  well  as  sand  bins.  Only  children  under  ten  years 
of  age  are  allowed  to  use  these  grounds.  Provision  is  made 
for  the  caretakers,  who  are  supplied  with  ample  shade 
while  they  watch  the  little  ones.  Mothers  may  come  with 
their  children  and  remain  to  see  them  play.  The  boys' 
field  is  the  largest  area  of  the  three  divisions,  but  the  patron- 
age is  also  the  largest ;  the  field  contains  tennis  grounds, 
a    baseball    diamond,  an  outdoor    handball    court,  and 


THE  PLAYGROUND  MOVEMENT  111 

apparatus  adapted  to  the  larger  boy.  A  running  track  is 
usually  included,  and  contests  are  a  part  of  the  regular 
program.  In  a  few  instances  small  ball  grounds  have 
been  set  apart  for  little  boys,  but  the  general  rule  is  to 
admit  all  classes  to  the  larger  ball  field. 

The  girls'  field  has  the  usual  outdoor  equipment,  with 
opportunity  for  play  and  exercise.  Even  athletic  contests 
for  the  girls  and  women  have  been  inaugurated,  and  among 
the  events  are  the  running  high  jump,  vertical  ladder  chmb, 
and  fifty-yard  dash.  Hundreds  of  girls  participate  in 
these  contests  —  a  fact  which  attests  their  popularity. 
When  false  modesty  has  subsided,  their  utility  will  also  be 
generally  recognized. 

A  portion  of  the  grounds  is  used  in  common,  or  for  certain 
definite  purposes.  In  winter  part  of  the  field  is  flooded 
and  converted  into  a  skating  pond.  A  little  dressing 
room  is  provided  in  a  corner  of  the  park,  and  serves  as  a 
starting  point  for  the  skaters.  A  number  of  tennis  courts 
are  located  on  this  common  field  where  the  sexes  may 
mingle  in  their  play.  A  variety  of  sports  are  allowed,  but 
baseball  often  preempts  this  section  of  the  grounds.  The 
outdoor  fields  are  open  from  May  to  November,  but  the 
indoor  gymnasia  are  open  throughout  the  year. 

5.    Progress  of  the  Playground  Movement. 

The  rapid  extension  of  playground  facilities  is  being 
recognized  as  the  most  important  phase  of  the  playground 
problem.  Types  of  playgrounds  are  of  secondary  value. 
Playgrounds  may  be  both  public  and  private.  A  large 
number  are  in  fact  being  conducted  by  private  societies, 
and  it  is  the  initiative  of  the  latter  which  is  responsible 
for  much  of  the  impetus  given  to  the  demands  for  play- 
grounds everywhere.  The  earlier  playgrounds  were  almost 
entirely  provided  for  by  charitable  and  philanthropic 
societies.     Social   settlements   started   the   movement   in 


112  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

Chicago  and  in  New  York,  but  in  all  cases  the  interest 
of  the  municipalities  was  soon  aroused  and  assistance  was 
given  to  the  movement. 

The  city  of  Chicago  excels  at  present  in  its  playground 
facihties,  and  its  ten  recreation  centers  alone  showed  a 
record  of  attendance  in  1907  of  more  than  5,000,000  persons. 
Adults,  however,  are  included  in  this  enumeration.  The 
city  has  appropriated  an  additional  $3,000,000  for  the 
extension  of  its  field  houses  to  every  part  of  the  city  in 
special  need  of  such  institutions.  New  York  plans  an 
extensive  development  of  facilities,  and  in  1908  operated 
about  125  vacation  playgrounds,  36  vacation  schools,  and 
31  evening  recreation  centers.  The  expenditure  for  the 
music  furnished  at  the  recreation  piers  exceeds  S50,000 
for  a  season.  In  addition  nearly  $25,000  is  spent  for 
entertainment  at  the  evening  roof  playgrounds.  The  ad- 
vantages thus  furnished,  however,  accrue  almost  exclusively 
to  adults.  In  1907  only  66  cities  had  joined  the  play- 
ground movement,  but  in  1908  this  number  had  grown  to 
185,  and  an  additional  118  other  cities  were  contemplating 
the  establishment  of  facilities  for  play.  In  1909,  339  cities 
operated  playgrounds.  Thus  a  very  rapid  advance  in  the 
movement  has  occurred,  and  all  of  the  larger  cities  are 
enlisted  in  the  cause.  In  Missouri,  the  State  University 
has  carried  on  a  propaganda  through  one  of  its  departments 
and  has  succeeded  in  establishing  playgrounds  in  more  than 
30  cities  in  the  state.  Although  no  statistics  are  available 
showing  the  total  number  of  playgrounds  in  the  American 
cities,  hundreds  of  them  are  now  in  existence.  Several 
cities,  notably  Washington,  Newark,  and  Rochester,  have 
recently  purchased  considerable  ground  for  the  purpose 
of  providing  play  facilities,  and  propose  to  establish  an 
elaborate  system  of  playgrounds.  New  Jersey,  through 
state  law,  has  authorized  a  playground  commission  for  each 
one  of  its  larger  cities.     The  commission  selects  a  site  for  a 


THE   PLAYGROUND  MOVEMENT  113 

playground,  purchases  the  land,  and  organizes  the  work 
as  fast  as  it  is  possible  to  secure  appropriations  for  this 
purpose.  Boston  has  also  developed  an  extensive  system, 
and  has  placed  it  in  the  hands  of  a  school  committee.  In 
the  South,  Atlanta  has  responded  to  the  need,  and  has 
appropriated  a  small  sum  to  carry  on  a  number  of  play- 
grounds. 

The  success  of  the  Chicago  system  of  small  parks  and 
field  houses  has  profoundly  impressed  students  of  the 
problem,  and  workers  as  well,  and  a  tendency  to  imitate 
this  plan  is  apparent.  The  systematic  organization  of  the 
Chicago  civic  centers  has  also  excited  a  wide-spread  inter- 
est. There  is  still,  however,  a  general  belief  in  the  ser- 
viceability of  small  playgrounds  as  found  in  the  majority 
of  cities.  Social  conditions  must  eventually  determine 
which  system  is  to  be  adopted  by  each  particular  city. 

6.    Method  of  Administration. 

The  importance  of  play,  not  as  mere  recreation,  but  as 
having  a  vigorous  formative  influence  on  the  character 
and  ideals  of  the  child,  has  been  recognized,  and  so  the 
question  how  to  make  this  influence  most  effective  natu- 
rally arises.  Shall  play  be  supervised,  or  not  ?  Wherever 
the  park  ideal  of  playground  prevails,  very  little  super- 
vision is  possible.  In  the  large  park  there  is  none,  but  in 
the  small  parks  a  system  of  limited  supervision  may  exist. 
The  results  of  the  operation  of  the  unsupervised  playground 
have  not  been  sufficiently  encouraging  to  gain  much  sup- 
port for  this  method.  In  fact,  the  experience  of  the  school 
playground,  as  well  as  the  results  in  at  least  one  city  — 
Buffalo  —  contain  a  note  of  warning  against  this  system. 
Consequently  the  recent  tendency  has  been  toward  the 
ideal  of  the  supervised  playground.  In  the  latter  the 
bully  and  the  gang  can  not  rule  and  can  not  destroy  the 
ethical  values  of  play,  nor  can  the  larger  boys  monopolize 


114  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

opportunity  to  the  detriment  of  the  smaller  child.  Un- 
questionably the  supervised  playground  is  superior  in  its 
capacity  to  develop  the  character  and  the  social  ideals  of 
the  child.  The  quality  of  the  supervision  is  likewise  a 
matter  of  utmost  importance,  especially  to  the  boys. 

The  success  of  supervision  depends  largely  upon  the 
efficiency  of  playground  directors.  These  should  be  trained 
either  in  courses  offered  in  connection  with  the  department 
of  physical  education  in  our  colleges  or  normal  schools,  or 
they  should  receive  separate  training  in  schools  of  social 
work.  The  public  school  teacher  likewise  should  have 
a  wider  knowledge  of  the  social  aspects  of  play  and  educa- 
tion, so  as  to  enable  her  to  direct  more  efficiently  the  play 
of  the  children  under  her  charge. 

Under  an  ideal  arrangement  playground  facilities  should 
be  accessible  throughout  the  year,  but  inclemency  of 
weather  makes  outdoor  sport  in  the  small  playgrounds 
and  in  the  parks  impossible  during  the  winter  months. 
The  grounds,  however,  should  be  in  use  as  long  as  the  con- 
ditions of  the  weather  allow.  In  the  majority  of  Ameri- 
can cities  this  is  about  seven  months.  Indoor  equipment 
is  important,  and  this  problem  is  partially  met  by  the 
Chicago  recreation  centers,  which  make  provision  during 
the  winter  for  all  classes  except  the  small  children.  Every- 
where the  vacation  playground  must  have  its  functions 
enlarged  and  the  time  of  operation  extended  so  that  the 
child  may  continually  be  provided  with  the  opportunity 
to  play. 

Shall  small  parks,  playgrounds,  and  recreation  centers 
be  controlled  by  the  board  of  education  or  by  some  other 
department  of  the  city  government?  This  question  re- 
ceives various  answers,  but  the  concensus  of  opinion  is 
slowly  crystallizing  in  favor  of  control  by  some  special 
bureau  or  department.  According  to  this  arrangement, 
parks,  all  forms  of  recreation  centers,  swimming  pools, 


THE  PLAYGROUND  MOVEMENT  115 

and  public  baths  are  placed  under  the  charge  of  the  same 
branch  of  the  municipal  government.  In  favor  of  this 
plan  it  is  argued  that  the  facilities  for  play  are  not  con- 
fined to  school  children  and  that  the  functions  of  the  parks 
are  much  broader,  granting  privileges  and  opportunities 
as  they  do  to  many  classes,  and  permitting  enjoyment 
to  all  through  the  variety  of  activities  allowed.  Accord- 
ingly this  work  is  outside  the  scope  of  the  duties  of  a  board 
of  education.  Furthermore  the  latter  does  not  have  charge 
of  all  matters  affecting  children,  but  of  a  few  of  their  prob- 
lems only.  If  everything  relating  to  childhood  were 
brought  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  school  authorities, 
the  supervision  of  playgrounds  might  also  be  included. 
But  this  is  far  from  the  actual  condition.  Again,  the  close 
relation  to  each  other  of  the  members  of  this  group  of 
activities  naturally  suggests  their  inclusion  under  a  single 
administrator. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  claimed  that  the  board  of  edu- 
cation is  the  proper  authority  under  which  all  playgrounds 
should  be  placed,  because  play  is  essentially  educational 
and  social  in  its  nature.  Although  the  playground  move- 
ment began  apart  from  the  public  school,  there  is  an  iden- 
tity of  interest  which  justifies  the  control  of  play  facilities 
by  the  educational  authorities.  The  control  of  this  ac- 
tivity should  not  be  divided  between  two  departments, 
as  it  would  be  if  the  board  of  education  retained  control 
of  the  school  playgrounds  and  all  other  playgrounds  were 
subjected  to  some  alien  authority.  Therefore  an  extension 
of  the  administrative  functions  of  the  board  seems  ad- 
visable. Furthermore,  a  propaganda  supported  by  the 
combined  influence  of  the  educational  forces  of  a  city  is 
more  likely  to  secure  the  facilities  for  which  the  public 
contends.  It  has  been  the  policy  of  the  American  boards 
to  extend  their  functions  and  enlarge  their  duties  as  need 
for  these  changes  has  developed. 


116  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

In  actual  practice  a  diversity  of  method  still  prevails. 
The  vacation  schools,  playgrounds,  and  recreation  centers 
of  New  York  City  are  directly  under  the  control  of  its 
board  of  education.  In  Boston,  likewise,  the  school  board 
has  charge  of  all  playgrounds,  both  those  in  the  parks  and 
in  the  school  yards.  This  city  may,  however,  soon  create 
a  new  municipal  department  which  will  have  charge  of  the 
playgrounds  as  well  as  of  other  activities.  The  fine  recrea- 
tion centers  of  Chicago  are  under  the  supervision  of  a  park 
commission,  and  in  St.  Louis  the  control  is  vested  in  a 
similar  municipal  body.  The  divergent  methods  of  con- 
trol which  characterize  the  large  cities  is_  equally  reflected 
among  the  smaller  ones.  Opinion  and  method,  however, 
is  nearly  unanimous  in  favor  of  the  continued  control  of 
the  school  playground  by  the  board  of  education.  As  the 
ideals  of  our  people  develop  and  the  urgenc}^  of  recreation 
centers  for  all  classes  is  generally  accepted,  playgrounds 
for  children  will  be  regarded  as  a  mere  ramification  of  a 
fixed  social  program.  It  is  likely  that  our  cities,  when 
dominated  by  this  point  of  view,  will  gradually  subject 
the  public  playground  facilities  to  the  control  of  some 
appropriate  municipal  body  other  than  the  school  board. 
This  seems  to  be  the  logical  development. 


CHAPTER   III 

the  medical  inspection  op  schools 

1.   Theory  of  Inspection. 

The  right  of  the  child  to  health  must  hereafter  be  re- 
garded as  a  fundamental  claim  upon  society.  This  claim 
depends  upon  two  important  considerations :  first,  the 
inability  of  the  child  to  realize  the  permanent  disadvan- 
tage which  ill  health  may  entail  upon  him ;  second,  the 
failure  of  ignorant  parents  to  care  for  their  children  in  a 
proper  manner.  The  health  interests  of  the  child  have 
received  due  recognition  only  since  children  have  been 
congregated  in  our  schoolrooms.  Accordingly  the  medi- 
cal inspection  of  children  has  taken  the  form  of  inspection 
of  school  children.  The  scope  of  inspection  naturally 
depends  upon  the  purpose  of  the  work,  and  will  vary  in 
extensiveness  according  to  the  theory  held  in  regard  to  the 
basic  grounds  for  inspection  of  the  schools. 

The  earlier  theory  advanced  in  justification  of  the  medi- 
cal inspection  of  school  children  was  that  such  inspection 
falls  within  the  police  power  of  the  state.  The  right  of  the 
government  to  safeguard  public  health  by  suppressing 
contagion  warrants,  not  only  the  enactment  of  quarantine 
laws  and  the  establishment  of  pesthouses,  but  also  the 
creation  of  medical  inspectors  for  the  public  schools ;  for 
the  schoolroom  is  the  ideal  place  for  the  rapid  diffusion 
of  epidemics  —  the  clearing-house  for  all  the  contagious 
diseases  of  the  community.  To  this  theory  the  first  medi- 
cal inspection  of  the  schools  is  to  be  credited.     Europe 

117 


118  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

led  the  way,  several  German  cities  adopting  a  system  of 
inspection  in  1867.  The  movement  began  in  Austria  in 
1873,  in  Belgium  in  1874,  and  in  France  in  1884.i  This 
early  inspection  was  practically  restricted,  of  course,  to  the 
detection  of  contagious  diseases.  The  beginning  of  the  sys- 
tem in  the  United  States  was  characterized  by  similar 
limitations.  In  New  York  City,  inspection  was  at  first 
confined  to  sixteen  different  diseases ;  the  number  was 
later  reduced  to  seven  of  the  most  malignant  of  these  dis- 
eases. 

The  second  theory  of  the  right  of  inspection  is  the  one 
upon  which  the  most  modern  methods  of  social  and  philan- 
thropic work  are  based.  According  to  this  theory,  society 
is  bound  not  only  to  employ  measures  for  its  own  defense, 
but  also  to  initiate  constructive  methods  for  the  purpose 
of  ameliorating  conditions  for  the  coming  generation. 
The  new  theory  is,  in  short,  an  outlook  into  the  future. 
The  motto  of  the  present-day  social  worker  is  that  no  con- 
dition which  imperils  the  welfare  of  the  individual  is  to  be 
ignored  unless  the  disadvantages  of  interference  outweigh 
the  value  of  remedial  service.  Hence  the  examination  of 
school  children  for  contagious  diseases  is  but  part  of  the 
work,  and  medical  inspection  is  extended  to  the  detection 
of  mental  and  physical  defects  and  the  minor  diseases  of 
the  child.  Philanthropic  workers  have  not  until  recently 
begun  to  appreciate  the  importance  of  a  complete  system 
of  inspection.  This  seemed  to  call  for  an  unjustifiable 
interference  with  the  personal  liberty  of  the  American 
people.  Happily,  silly  sentiment  regarding  this  liberty 
is  rapidly  giving  way  to  wholesome  policies  of  social  reform 
which  are  destined  to  remove  the  causes  of  individual 
inefficiency  and  to  increase  the  ability  of  the  poor  to  become 
self-supporting. 

1  Annual  Report  of  the  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Education,  1902,  Vol.  I, 
chap.  xi. 


THE  MEDICAL  INSPECTION  OF  SCHOOLS     119 

2.    Nature  of  Inspection. 

In  the  inspection  of  children,  the  following  points  should 
be  considered :  — 

a.  Diseases  of  every  description,  especially  contagious 
and  infectious  cases. 

h.  Mental  defects.  Backward  children  need  most  care- 
ful diagnosis  in  order  to  effect  such  segregation  as  may  be 
necessary  for  their  educational  interests,  as  well  as  to  as- 
certain the  precise  nature  of  their  defects,  which  may  often 
be  remediable. 

c.  Defective  sense  organs.  A  very  large  group  of  chil- 
dren is  suffering  from  defective  eyesight,  of  which  the  prin- 
cipal forms  are  shortsightedness  and  focal  inequalities. 
The  pupils  should  have  their  attention  called  to  these 
defects,  and  the  parents  should  be  requested  to  remedy 
them.  Delay  may  lead  to  such  defective  vision  as  would 
handicap  in  a  most  serious  manner  the  industrial  efficiency 
of  the  child.  Again,  deafness  is  often  the  cause  of  the 
teacher's  failure  to  understand  the  child.  Backwardness 
is  often  occasioned  by  the  absence  of  methods  which  will 
give  the  child  the  greatest  measure  of  opportunity  possible. 

d.  Other  phj^sical  defects.  Stammering  requires  atten- 
tion, and  rules  for  its  treatment  should  be  given.  Defects 
of  the  teeth  are  more  common  than  any  other  physical 
subnormaHties  of  the  child.  Such  defects,  although  slight 
in  their  incipient  stages,  need  attention  not  only  on  ac- 
count of  the  subsequent  results,  but  also  because  of  the 
tendency  of  the  child  to  neglect  the  care  of  the  teeth. 
Adenoids  and  affections  of  the  throat  afflict  large  numbers 
of  children,  and  are  therefore  an  important  item  in  the  work 
of  the  inspector.  Adenoids  may  be  relieved  by  an  opera- 
tion that  can  be  performed  by  the  school  physician.  Medi- 
cal inspection  will  bring  to  light  a  multitude  of  other  com- 
plaints, ailments,  and  physical  deformities.     The  nervous, 


120  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

respiratory,  and  circulatory  systems  all  stand  in  need 
of  careful  examination.  The  defects  and  diseases  sepa- 
rately named  above  are,  however,  of  prime  importance,  and 
should  be  given  precedence  in  the  work  of  inspection. 

3.    Organization  of  School  Inspection. 

The  organization  of  the  work  requires  the  active  co- 
operation of  several  classes  of  officials,  chief  among  which 
are  the  school  nurses  and  the  physicians  or  medical  inspec- 
tors. The  teacher  and  the  parents  are  also  very  necessary 
adjuncts.  To  secure  adequate  relief  it  is  necessary  in  the 
large  cities  to  obtain  the  cooperation  of  family  physicians, 
and,  in  some  cases,  of  suitable  dispensaries.  Whether 
medical  inspection  of  the  schools  should  be  a  function  of 
the  board  of  health  or  of  the  board  of  education  is  a  mooted 
question.  The  health  departments  wish  to  obtain  juris- 
diction over  the  health  of  the  school  children,  while  boards 
of  education  claim  that  the  work  is  only  a  special  applica- 
tion of  their  own  powers.  The  detection  of  contagious 
diseases  is  a  necessary  part  of  the  work  of  the  health  depart- 
ment, and  the  danger  of  epidemics  makes  watchfulness  on 
its  part  absolutely  necessary.  Compulsory  vaccination, 
effectual  quarantine,  and  other  precautionary  measures 
have  been  established  by  this  department,  and  the  logical 
development  of  its  work  carries  it  into  the  school  to  detect 
evidences  of  contagion  there.  The  work  has  simply  be- 
come positive  instead  of  remaining  negative  as  it  formerly 
was.  The  bar  to  contagion  is  easy  if  access  to  the  probable 
agents  of  an  epidemic  can  be  gained  in  time.  It  would 
seem,  therefore,  that  the  health  bureau  has  a  claim  to  the 
right  to  superintend  the  work  of  medical  inspection  of  the 
schools. 

The  board  of  education,  on  the  other  hand,  contends 
that  the  health,  cleanliness,  and  physical  condition  of  the 


THE  MEDICAL  INSPECTION   OF  SCHOOLS     121 

child  are,  apart  from  the  presence  of  contagious  disease, 
closely  bound  up  with  his  school  work,  and  that  therefore 
the  best  results  can  be  achieved  only  by  placing  the  medical 
inspectors  under  its  direction.  The  chief  demands  made 
upon  the  school  physician  are  the  adaptation  of  the  pupil 
to  the  conditions  of  the  school  and  the  removal  of  minor 
defects.  The  achievement  of  these  results  means  increased 
capacity  of  the  child  to  accomplish  the  work  of  the  school- 
room. The  great  proportion  of  the  inspector's  work  is 
more  closely  aUied  to  the  natural  functions  of  the  teacher 
than  to  those  of  the  representative  of  the  bureau  of  health. 
Defective  vision,  deafness,  backwardness,  and  subnormal 
physical  development  directly  affect  capacity  for  education 
and  determine  the  methods  of  instruction  that  should  be 
applied.  Accordingly  the  board  of  education  considers 
medical  inspection  a  mere  extension  of  the  work  of  its 
hygiene  and  physical  exercise  departments. 
'  In  actual  practice  nearly  all  of  the  large  cities  of  the 
United  States  are  doing  the  work  under  the  supervision 
of  their  health  departments.  Boards  of  health  acted  be- 
fore the  educational  departments  began  the  work ;  hence 
medical  inspection  is  almost  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the 
former  wherever  very  active  care  of  the  conditions  of 
public  health  has  been  necessary.  These  boards  are 
naturally  loath  to  relinquish  the  work  which  they  have 
undertaken,  and  thus  occasion  jealousy  if  not  animosity 
on  the  part  of  the  boards  of  education.  New  Orleans 
and  St.  Louis  are  the  only  large  cities  in  which  educa- 
tional authorities  control  the  work  of  inspection.  The 
tendency,  however,  is  toward  the  increased  power  of  the 
boards  of  education  and  the  surrender  to  them  of  at  least 
a  portion  of  these  duties. 

In  a  few  cities  the  work  is  done  conjointly  by  the  two 
boards,  but  this  system  tends  to  create  confusion  and 
endangers  the  efficiency  of  the  inspection,  and  especially 


122  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

of  the  remedial  work  which  follows  and  which  gives  value 
to  the  examination  of  the  child.  Joint  responsibility  is 
not  proving  successful  because  of  the  friction  which  it 
engenders  and  the  consequent  impossibility  of  securing 
the  best  results.  Most  of  the  remedial  work  and  the 
statistical  tabulations,  including  the  keeping  of  records, 
will  in  either  case  remain  a  part  of  the  task  of  the  school 
authorities.  Therefore  it  seems  clear  that  the  interests 
of  the  child  will  be  better  subserved  by  placing  the  in- 
spectors under  the  control  of  the  board  of  education. 
Regular  reports,  however,  must  be  made  to  the  board  of 
health  to  enable  the  latter  to  perform  its  legitimate  duties 
and  safeguard  the  public  health.  The  handling  of  the 
problem  of  contagious  diseases  must  remain  with  the 
board  of  health. 

4.  The  Medical  Inspector. 

Each  inspector  should  have  assigned  to  him  about  four 
schools,  all  of  which  should  be  visited  in  the  routine  of  his 
work.  At  stated  intervals  it  should  be  the  duty  of  the 
inspector  to  examine  every  child  in  each  school.  Such 
examination  should  be  thorough,  according  to  the  method 
of  several  German  cities.  It  should  in  the  first  place  cover 
all  minor  defects,  then  the  general  physical  constitution, 
chest  measurement,  weight,  height,  condition  of  the  skin, 
spine,  eyelids,  sense  organs,  etc.,  should  be  carefully  noted 
and  recorded.  The  information  thus  obtained  would  be 
useful  for  both  immediate  and  comparative  purposes,  and 
should  furnish  the  basis  for  a  constructive  program  of 
physical  development.  The  daily  visit  to  a  school  should 
be  for  the  purpose  of  understanding  the  graver  ailments 
of  the  child.  A  clinic  or  examination  room  should  be  pro- 
vided, and  only  such  children  should  be  sent  to  the  inspec- 
tor as  require  examination.  The  principal  matters  of 
interest  should  be :    the  detection  of  contagious  diseases 


THE  MEDICAL  INSPECTION   OF  SCHOOLS     123 

and  the  exclusion  from  school  of  the  affected  children  ; 
the  inspection  of  children  who  have  returned  to  school  after 
exclusion  on  account  of  disease  or  other  cause ;  also  the 
examination  of  those  who  have  been  recently  treated  and 
of  those  who  are  plainly  in  need  of  treatment.  Suspicious 
cases  should  always  be  referred  to  the  inspector  by  the 
teacher  or  by  the  trained  nurse.  Parents  should  be  noti- 
fied or  children  be  referred  to  appropriate  places  for  treat- 
ment. 

In  some  instances  it  will  be  necessary  for  the  physician 
to  follow  the  child  into  the  home,  but  this  task  should 
usually  belong  to  the  school  nurse.  Treatment  by  the 
physician  in  the  home  will  not  be  welcomed  by  the  medi- 
cal fraternity,  which  depends  for  its  subsistence  upon  the 
fees  received  from  private  practice.  It  is  well  at  the  present 
time  not  to  interfere  too  seriously  with  the  work  of  the 
practicing  physician,  although  means  must  be  provided 
for  those  who  are  unable  to  command  the  private  ser- 
vices of  a  physician. 

5.    The  School  Nurse. 

The  great  burden  of  the  remedial  work  required  in  our 
schools  rests  upon  the  school  nurse.  Her  duties  should 
consist  briefly  of  the  following  tasks  :  — 

a.  The  treatment  of  the  minor  cases  which  the  medical 
inspector  orders  sent  to  her.  These  include  numerous 
skin  diseases,  some  of  which  may  be  contagious;  cuts, 
sprains  ;  certain  affections  of  the  eye,  etc. 

h.  Instruction  in  regard  to  pediculosis  and  the  nature 
of  the  home  treatment  required. 

c.  The  detection  of  minor  cases  of  disease  among  the 
pupils  and  the  summary  exclusion  of  cases  showing  symp- 
toms of  a  serious  contagious  disease. 

d.  Visits  to  the  home  to  advise  parents  as  to  methods 
of  treatment  and  when  necessary  to  impress  upon  them 


124  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

the  need  of  medical  attention.  In  some  cities  the  nurses 
frequently  attend  the  child  to  the  hospital  or  dispensary. 

e.  The  keeping  of  records  showing  the  physical  con- 
dition of  the  child.  Besides  these  general  duties,  sub- 
sidiary ones  are  common.  In  Philadelphia,  for  example, 
the  nurses  have  excluded  a  large  number  of  children  on 
account  of  unsatisfactory  vaccination.  Underfed  and 
dirty  children  also  receive  the  nurses'  attention. 

The  school  nurse  handles  about  five  schools  and  visits 
each  one  every  day,  but  can  not  make  detailed  examinations 
on  each  visit.  The  treatment  of  cases  requires  much  time, 
and  an  enormous  amount  of  work  must  be  done.  A  single 
nurse  in  Philadelphia  during  one  year  treated  8600  cases, 
cured  993,  made  884  visits  to  homes  and  212  visits  to 
dispensaries.  The  work  of  the  nurses  in  that  city  within 
a  short  time  reduced  pediculosis  73  per  cent  and  provided 
many  children  with  eyeglasses  who  would  otherwise  have 
ruined  their  eyes.  The  principal  ailments  with  which  the 
school  nurse  has  to  deal  in  the  large  cities  are,  in  the  order 
of  their  importance :  pediculosis,  eye  disease,  and  ring- 
worm. A  large  group  of  other  defects  must  before  long 
be  given  the  careful  attention  of  the  school  nurse ;  the 
most  important  of  these  is  defective  vision,  then  follow 
bad  teeth,  imperfect  hearing,  and  various  other  defects. 

The  function  of  the  school  nurse  is  a  most  important 
one.  She  is  more  valuable  to  the  child  than  any  other 
part  of  the  system  of  medical  inspection.  She  prepares 
the  pupil  for  a  more  intelligent  care  of  himself,  interests 
him  in  hygienic  methods  and  cleanliness,  and  teaches  his 
parents  both  how  to  care  for  their  child  and  the  need  of 
giving  him  their  attention.  By  her  promptness  she  saves 
much  valuable  time  to  the  school  child,  who  can  not  well 
afford  to  be  excluded  from  school  for  any  length  of  time. 
She  must  have  a  strong  but  gentle  personality,  as  her  success 
depends  not  upon  her  powers  of  compulsion  but  upon  her 
persuasive  influence. 


THE  MEDICAL  INSPECTION  OF  SCHOOLS     125 


6.  The  Teacher. 

The  teacher  forms  an  essential  part  of  the  system  of 
medical  inspection.  Her  alert  eye  must  be  ever  ready  to 
distinguish  the  suspicious  case.  She  must  cooperate  with 
the  nurse  and  inspector  and  put  their  suggestions  into 
practice.  Tests  of  vision  and  hearing  are  in  some  states 
made  by  the  teachers  themselves,  and  in  Massachusetts 
such  tests  are  made  when  recommended  by  specialists. 
The  teacher  is  in  close  touch  with  the  pupil,  the  tests  are 
comparatively  simple,  competency  to  conduct  them  is 
soon  acquired,  and  the  resulting  disclosures  make  the 
teacher  more  diligent  in  her  attention  to  defects  in  the 
physical  equipment  of  the  school.  On  the  other  hand, 
examination  of  the  children  by  a  specialist  carries  more 
weight  with  the  parents  upon  whom  falls  the  final  duty 
of  supplying  the  children's  needs.  In  those  states  and 
cities  in  which  no  comprehensive  medical  inspection  as 
yet  obtains,  the  duty  of  the  teacher  to  make  these  tests, 
inform  the  parents,  and  remedy  the  defects  as  best  she 
can  is  absolutely  clear.  When  medical  inspection  has  been 
officially  introduced,  it  may  not  be  necessary  for  the  teacher 
to  attend  to  the  work  herself. 

7.  The  School  Child. 

In  any  large  city  the  danger  from  contagion  is  consid- 
erable. Children  who  have  been  infected  with  disease 
infect  others,  and,  unless  strict  precautions  are  observed, 
epidemics  may  follow.  Serious  epidemics,  however, 
are  less  common  than  the  minor  ailments  and  defects  of 
children.  From  twelve  to  sixteen  contagious  diseases 
usually  comprise  the  list  of  diseases  for  which  children 
are  excluded.  The  defects  which  come  under  the  care  of 
the  nurse  are  much  more  numerous,  and  it  is  the  inclusion 
of  these  which  swells  the  total  number  of  defective  children. 


126  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

There  are  very  few  perfect  children,  and  in  some  schools 
the  thorough  physician  will  find  that  every  child  suffers 
from  some  defect,  trivial  though  it  may  be.  The  number 
of  defective  school  children  in  the  United  States  has  been 
estimated  as  comprising  from  about  two  thirds  to  three 
fourths  of  the  entire  number  of  school  children,  but  these 
estimates  include  all  those  afflicted  with  minor  defects, 
such  as  bad  teeth,  etc.  It  is  not  likely  that  each  one  of  these 
deficiencies  would  seriously  handicap  the  child,  although 
treatment  would  be  an  advantage.  The  advisability  of 
removing  all  defects  in  our  school  children  is  entirely  clear, 
but  no  occasion  for  serious  alarm  has  as  yet  presented 
itself.  The  proportion  of  defectiveness  is  greatly  reduced 
when  the  minor  defects  are  excluded. 

8.  Legal  Provision  for  Medical  Inspection. 

Once  begun,  the  movement  in  the  United  States  in  favor 
of  medical  inspection  has  advanced  very  rapidly.  A 
large  number  of  our  cities  have  provided  for  inspection 
in  some  form.  Boston  was  the  first  large  city  to  adopt 
it  officially.  The  work  began  there  in  1894  and  is  under 
the  control  of  the  board  of  health.  Chicago  followed  the 
next  year,  the  bureau  of  health  providing  for  a  limited 
inspection.  Later  the  work  there  was  practically  aban- 
doned for  ten  years,  and  only  recommenced  in  1906.  Phil- 
adelphia began  the  work  with  an  insufficient  corps  of 
physicians  and  a  nurse  borrowed  from  the  Visiting  Nurse 
Association  of  the  city.  The  latter  city  now  has  five  nurses, 
but  more  are  needed  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  city.  New 
York  City  has  166  physicians  and  50  nurses  at  the  present 
time,  yet  the  combined  efforts  of  so  many  physicians  and 
nurses  have  been  unable  to  cover  adequately  all  the  schools 
of  the  city.  The  example  of  these  large  cities  operates  to 
create  general  sentiment  in  favor  of  the  movement,  and 
many  smaller  cities  have  begun  to  make  provision  for 


THE  MEDICAL  INSPECTION  OF  SCHOOLS     127 

medical  inspection  by  appointing  physicians  to  take  charge 
of  the  examinations.  Nor  has  the  movement  been  con- 
fined to  the  cities.  Several  states  have  passed  laws  on  the 
subject.  Connecticut  enjoys  the  priority  by  having 
passed  its  laws  in  1899,  but  these  laws  provide  only  for 
eye  tests.  Vermont  and  Massachusetts  have  followed, 
and  include  among  their  requirements  inspection  for  both 
contagious  and  non-contagious  diseases.  New  Jersey  has 
authorized  medical  inspection,  but  as  the  law  is  not  manda- 
tory, good  results  must  await  the  development  of  public 
opinion.  In  many  of  the  states  the  growing  demand  for 
attention  to  the  defects  of  the  children  has  caused  the  state 
board  of  health  to  advise  or  require  that  inspection  for 
certain  defects  be  made.  In  many  places  the  subject  is 
under  discussion,  and  several  states  will  beyond  doubt  add 
provisions  in  the  near  future  for  the  inspection  of  all 
school  children  within  their  respective  borders. 

Note.  The  major  portion  of  the  facts  contained  in  the  foregoing 
chapter  may  be  found  in  the  volume  by  Gulick  and  Ayres  on  "Medical 
Inspection  of  Schools.". 


CHAPTER   IV 
the  education  of  backwaed  children 

1.   Introduction. 

In  recent  years  we  have  begun  to  realize  that  a  consid- 
erable number  of  our  children,  notably  the  dull  and  back- 
ward pupils,  are  not  receiving  justice  at  the  hands  of  our 
public  schools.  By  "backward  child"  is  meant  neither 
the  idiot  nor  the  imbecile,  but  the  child  who  is  slightly 
deficient  mentally.  He  who  is  behind  his  classes  because 
of  illness  or  absence  from  school  is  not  properly  included. 
The  backward  child  is  one  who  can  not  keep  up  with  the 
normal  pupil,  who  is  not  sufficiently  defective  to  belong 
in  an  institution,  but  who  requires  special  care  and  atten- 
tion. He  is  educable  to  a  greater  or  less  degree,  and  re- 
sponds favorably  to  the  right  kind  of  training,  but  is  com- 
monly from  two  to  five  years  below  grade.  The  child 
slightly  defective  physically  has  received  more  attention  in 
the  public  school  than  the  mentally  slow  or  dull  one.  In 
modern  schools  the  pupil  with  poor  eyesight  is  given  a 
front  seat,  the  one  with  defective  hearing  is  brought  within 
range  of  the  teacher's  voice,  the  one  with  weak  heart  or 
lungs  is  given  concessions  in  regard  to  marching,  climbing 
stairs,  etc.,  and  is  exempt  from  difficult  gymnasium  work. 
But  it  is  only  in  recent  years  and  in  a  few  places  that  the 
dull  child  has  been  segregated  under  special  training,  that 
is,  in  special  classes  doing  the  regular  grade  work  but  in 
smaller  quantities  and  with  longer  periods  of  time. 

128 


EDUCATION  OF  BACKWARD  CHILDREN       129 


2.  Number  of  Backward  Children. 

In  1906,  in  the  annual  report  of  the  Superintendent  of 
Schools  of  New  York  City,  more  than  30  per  cent  of  the 
children  were  reported  above  normal  age.  This,  however, 
has  little  significance  for  the  country  in  general  when  one 
considers  the  number  of  immigrant  children  in  New  York 
handicapped  by  lack  of  knowledge  of  the  English  language. 
Professor  Monroe  of  Stanford  University  gathered  par- 
ticulars of  10,000  children  in  the  public  schools  of  Cali- 
fornia, and  claims  to  have  found  about  10  per  cent  dull  or 
backward,  and  about  3  per  cent  feeble-minded.  Dr.  Fran- 
cis Warner,  member  of  the  Royal  Commission  of  Blind, 
Deaf,  etc.,  having  investigated  100,000  English  school  chil- 
dren, found  7  per  cent  dull  and  1.6  per  cent  feeble-minded. 
In  London  alone  there  are  8000  deficient  children.  These 
figures  indicate  rates  much  higher  than  those  discovered 
by  most  investigators  of  the  subject  in  the  United  States. 
The  Committee  on  Backward  Children  of  Philadelphia 
estimates  the  number  of  these  children  at  1  per  cent  of 
the  school  population.  This  seems  somewhat  lower  than 
the  general  average,  but  is,  at  least,  a  very  conservative 
estimate. 

The  Census  of  1900  reported  that  13,178,900  children 
between  the  ages  of  five  and  twenty  years  were  attending 
school.^  By  taking  1  per  cent  of  this  number  we  have 
131,789  "backward  children"  in  schools  in  the  United 
States  in  1900.  In  1908  this  number  has  no  doubt  in- 
creased to  approximately  200,000.  Many  backward  chil- 
dren drop  out  of  school;  therefore  the  aggregate  number 
must  be  considerably  larger  than  the  figures  just  given. 
The  question  of  proper  instruction,  then,  is  of  suflScient 
importance  to  merit  agitation  and  action. 

»  Abstract  of  Twelfth  Census,  p.  72. 


130  CHILD  PROBLEMS 


3.    Causes  of  Mental  Dullness. 

The  most  commonly  admitted  causes  of  mental  dullness 
are  defective  eyesight  and  hearing,  adenoids,  and  throat 
disorders.  The  investigation  of  the  special  sense  organs 
of  children  was  begun  years  ago,  but  has  only  recently  been 
practically  applied.  In  Germany,  Dr.  Cohn  found  that 
in  the  lower  grades  22  per  cent  had  defective  eyesight ; 
in  the  upper  grades  58  per  cent;  in  Sweden,  Axel  Key 
found  only  6  per  cent  at  eleven  years  of  age,  but  37  per  cent 
at  twenty  years.  In  the  United  States  defective  eyesight 
affects  about  20  per  cent  of  the  school  children.  Defects 
in  hearing  are  somewhat  less  common.  The  percentages 
range  about  as  follows :  Germany,  30  per  cent ;  France, 
17  per  cent ;  England,  27  per  cent ;  Russia,  21  per  cent  ; 
United  States,  5  to  6  per  cent.  It  is  well  understood  that 
the  visual  and  auditory  sensations  are  closely  related  to 
the  activities  of  the  mind ;  furthermore,  that  eye  strain 
and  overtaxed  attention  act  directly  upon  the  nervous 
system,  exhausting  it  and  making  the  child  irritable  as 
well  as  incapable  of  normal  mental  activity.  Mr.  Dawson^ 
says  that  no  type  of  the  commoner  physical  defects  of 
childhood  has  quite  so  stupefying  an  effect  upon  the  men- 
tal life  as  have  the  nose  and  throat  affections.  Out  of 
99,240  children  examined  in  New  York  City  in  1905, 
18,131,  or  18  per  cent,  had  enlarged  tonsils;  and  10  per 
cent  had  adenoid  growths,  many  of  them  with  accompany- 
ing affections  of  ears,  nose,  lungs,  and  impairment  of  health 
and  mental  vigor. 

Another  great  cause  of  slow  mentality  is  the  low  con- 
dition of  the  nervous  system.  This  is  again  correlated 
with  arrested  physical  growth,  deformities,  etc.  Dr. 
Francis  Warner  studied  50,000  London  school  children, 

1  Dawson,  George,  Physical  Study  of  the  Child,  National  Conference  of 
Charities  and  Correction,  1907. 


EDUCATION  OF  BACKWARD  CHILDREN       131 

and  found  that  9  per  cent  of  them  showed  abnormal  nerve 
conditions.  These  were  usually  associated  with  physical 
defects,  with  low  nutrition  and  mental  dullness.  It  is  now 
generally  conceded  that  the  latest  acquired  characteristics 
are  the  most  unstable ;  consequently  the  first  to  be  affected 
by  poor  physical  conditions.  Very  naturally,  then,  the 
cerebrum,  and  the  mind  as  well  as  the  entire  nervous 
system,  are  early  affected  by  arrested  physical  develop- 
ment. Spargo  claims  that  ''low  nutrition  is  the  prime 
and  most  fruitful  cause  of  mental  dullness."  However, 
this  is  an  ultimate  rather  than  an  immediate  cause.  Mal- 
nutrition is  often  a  cause  of  poor  physical  condition  or 
arrested  development,  which  in  turn  is  a  cause  of  low 
mentality. 

Gulick  and  Ayres  have  brought  out  some  evidence  show- 
ing that  while  physical  defects  are  ''a  cause  they  are  not 
the  cause  of  retardation,"  and  that  possibly  this  side  of 
the  question  had  been  overestimated  in  recent  years.  ^  In 
May  and  June,  1908,  these  two  authors  made  an  investi- 
gation of  children  from  fifteen  schools  of  New  York  City. 
Seven  thousand  six  hundred  and  eight  pupils  were  exam- 
ined physically.  Nearly  80  per  cent  of  the  normal  age 
children  had  physical  defects,  while  only  75  per  cent  of 
the  over-age  children  were  physically  defective !  It  is 
shown,  however,  that  children  outgrow  their  defects  and 
that  the  percentages  given  merely  indicate,  as  is  self-evi- 
dent, that  those  above  normal  age  are  older  than  the  other 
children  in  their  grade  and  so  naturally  have  fewer  defects. 
But  for  the  backward  children  the  presence  of  physical 
defects  is  a  more  serious  matter.  In  all,  1012  atypical 
children,  four  fifths  of  whom  were  ten  years  of  age  or  over, 
were  examined.  Of  this  number,  60  per  cent  were  suffer- 
ing from  malnutrition,  78  per  cent  from  nervous  disorders, 

1  Gulick  and  Ayres,  Medical  Inspection  of  Schools.  Chapter  on  Re- 
tardation and  Physical  Defects. 


132  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

56  per  cent  from  adenoid  growths,  60  per  cent  from  hyper- 
trophied  tonsils,  69  per  cent  from  defective  vision,  30  per 
cent  from  defective  hearing,  and  80  per  cent  from  defective 
teeth.  A  majority  of  these  children  had  numerous  defects, 
and  malnutrition  was  plainly  one  of  the  important  causes 
of  their  mental  retardation. 

A  cause  of  continued  defect  is  the  discouragement  that 
comes  when  slightly  deficient  children  try  to  keep  up  with 
brighter  schoolmates  and  fail.  Since  they  can  not  receive 
special  attention,  they  lose  courage  and  fall  farther  behind. 
Absence  from  school  for  whatever  reason  is  probably  the 
most  common  cause  of  retardation.  While  this  is  not 
strictly  backwardness,  it  often  appears  so,  and  when  suffi- 
ciently pronounced  amounts  to  the  same  thing,  because  the 
child  lacking  early  training  is  not  so  apt  and  active  in 
mind  as  is  the  normal  child. 

4.  Origin  and  Results  of  the  Work  Abroad. 

In  the  establishment  of  special  classes  for  mentally 
deficient  children,  Germany  was  the  pioneer,  and  began 
the  work  in  1867.  Norway  followed  in  1874,  and  England, 
Switzerland,  and  Austria  in  1892.  In  Prussia  since  1880 
special  schools  or  classes  for  defectives  have  been  required 
in  all  cities  having  a  population  of  20,000  or  more.  In 
some  cases  Germany  has  special  schools,  in  others,  special 
classes  for  these  children.  In  1901  at  the  Congress  on  the 
Education  of  Feeble-Minded  Children  at  Augsburg,  98 
day  schools  —  in  all  326  classes  —  were  reported.  This 
meant  7013  children  in  attendance.  All  were  not  provided 
for,  however,  and  had  the  provision  been  adequate,  60,000 
''special  class"  children  should  have  been  reported.  Ger- 
man experience  has  shown  that  about  83  per  cent  of  these 
children  are  able  at  the  end  of  school  age  to  secure  employ- 
ment requiring  little  skill,  and  can  in  time  support  them- 


EDUCATION  OF  BACKWARD  CHILDREN       133 

selves  wholly  or  in  part.  The  care  of  the  remaining  17 
per  cent  is  more  of  a  problem,  and  without  doubt  the  ma- 
jority should  be  transferred  to  institutions  before  the  end 
of  their  school  age. 

England  opened  her  first  special  class  in  1892.  In  1907 
London  had  60  schools  accommodating  3000  pupils.  Eng- 
land estimates  the  cost  of  training  in  special  classes  as 
twice  that  in  the  ordinary  grades.  In  Birmingham,  where 
an  after-care  committee  has  kept  careful  record  of  pupils 
of  special  classes,  26  out  of  the  83  cases  followed  have  been 
reported  as  wage-earners,  but  only  a  small  percentage  of 
these  were  self-supporting.  About  38  per  cent  seemed 
to  require  permanent  protection  and  at  least  partial  sup- 
port. In  England,  however,  a  lower  grade  of  children 
than  those  accepted  in  the  United  States  has  been  included 
in  the  category  of  backward  children. 

5.    Work  in  the  United  States. 

In  the  United  States,  Providence,  Rhode  Island,  first 
took  up  this  work.  In  1893  three  schools  for  special  dis- 
cipHne  and  instruction  were  ''organized  and  made  a  part 
of  the  public  school  system."  Backward  children  were 
tried  in  these  disciplinary  schools,  but  it  was  soon  dis- 
covered that  treatment  suited  to  ''active  mischievous  boys" 
was  not  suited  to  "feeble  plodding  children."  Accord- 
ingly in  1896  a  special  class  for  the  latter  was  opened.  A 
second  was  added  in  1897,  and  a  third  in  1898.  Out  of 
eighty-two  children  in  these  classes,  between  1896  and 
1900,  five  were  returned  to  regular  schools,  seven  were 
sent  to  the  disciplinary  schools,  and  sixteen  over  fifteen 
years  of  age  were  earning  part  or  all  of  their  living. 
With  five  exceptions,  all  had  improved,  some  of  them 
to  a  marked  degree.  The  first  class  in  Boston  began 
work  in  1899.     In  1907  seven  special  classes  containing 


134  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

95  children  were  reported.  This  was  out  of  a  school 
population  of  82,378.  The  Boston  Committee  on  the 
Health  of  Children  in  their  report  for  the  same  year 
recommended  more  special  classes,  especially  in  the  first 
three  grades. 

In  1899  the  Public  Education  Association  and  the  Civic 
Club  of  Philadelphia  first  agitated  for  that  city  the  ques- 
tion of  special  provision  for  defective  children.  The  same 
year  the  Philadelphia  School  for  Backward  Children  was 
organized.  After  two  years  the  work  was  taken  over  by 
the  Board  of  Education.  In  1906  there  were  nine  classes 
for  boys  and  one  for  girls.  Although  in  separate  classes, 
the  backward  children  were  in  the  same  building  with  the 
classes  for  truants  and  incorrigibles.  In  New  York  more 
ample  provision  is  made  for  dull  and  backward  children,  and 
special  classes  have  been  instituted  for  over-aged,  non- 
English  speaking,  and  below-grade  pupils.  The  atypical 
or  mentally  backward  children  are  placed  in  ''ungraded 
classes."  ^  In  1908, 61  such  classes  were  in  operation,  with  a 
total  registration  of  1012  pupils.  During  the  year  more  than 
2000  children  were  specially  examined  for  the  purpose  of 
ascertaining  the  grade  of  their  mental  defectiveness  and  the 
desirability  of  assigning  them  to  these  classes.  Of  this 
number,  1084  were  recommended  for  the  ungraded  work. 

In  St.  Louis  there  are  at  present  seven  special  schools, 
each  having  two  classes  of  about  fifteen  pupils  per  class. 
The  great  difficulty  here  is  the  presence  in  the  same  class  of 
mental  defectives,  moral  defectives,  slow  pupils,  and  nor- 
mal children  handicapped  by  lack  of  language,  etc.  The 
work  is  so  new  in  St.  Louis  that  much  remains  to  be  done 
in  the  way  of  classifying  and  segregating  as  well  as  of  pro- 
viding more  classes.  The  schools,  as  far  as  situation,  en- 
vironment, condition  of  buildings,  etc.,  are  concerned,  are 

1  Tenth  Annual  Report  of  City  Superintendent  of  Schools,  New  York 
City,  p.  112. 


EDUCATION  OF  BACKWARD  CHILDREN       135 

excellent.  In  a  number  of  other  cities  special  work  for 
backward  children  has  been  introduced,  but  the  examples 
given  illustrate  the  nature  and  trend  of  the  work  in  the 
United  States. 

6.     Needs  of  Backward  Children. 

The  presence  of  the  backward  child  in  the  ordinary- 
schoolroom  is  a  distinct  disadvantage  to  every  one  in  the 
room.  The  teacher  is  not  so  much  concerned  over  spend- 
ing some  of  her  valuable  time  with  the  slow  pupils  as  she 
is  with  the  problem  of  what  is  to  be  done  with  the  30  or  40 
normal  children  meanwhile.  There  is  an  inevitable  inter- 
ruption, school  discipline  suffers,  interest  wavers,  and 
work  drags  every  time  these  backward  children  try  to 
recite.  The  ordinary  grade  teacher  is  kept  busy  with 
the  regular  work.  The  consequence  is  that,  because  the 
greatest  good  to  the  greatest  number  must  be  chosen  when 
time  is  Hmited,  the  backward  child  does  not  receive  the 
help  he  needs.  The  work  goes  too  fast  for  his  slower 
mind  to  follow,  he  becomes  confused  and  disheartened,  and 
loses  all  interest  in  school.  Very  probably  he  grows  to 
hate  the  work  he  can  never  succeed  in  doing  as  other  chil- 
dren do.  Then  follows  the  discouragement  of  parents, 
the  removal  from  school,  and  the  child  is  permanently 
deprived  of  the  education  he  so  sorely  needs.  To  become 
self-supporting,  or  even  to  become  able  to  contribute  toward 
that  end",  requires  that  such  a  child  be  patiently  and  care- 
fully trained.  If  this  is  not  done,  a  tendency  to  drift  into 
crime  and  to  swell  our  prison  and  reformatory  population 
is  inevitable.  In  nearly  all  institutions  of  this  kind  there 
is  a  large  percentage  whom  those  in  charge  recognize  as 
mentally  deficient,  yet  they  have  been  tried  and  sentenced 
in  exactly  the  same  way  as  though  they  had  been  nor- 
mally responsible.  If  they  could  have  been  taken  in  the 
"hopeful  years  of  three  to  thirteen^'  and  helped  and  taught 


136  CHILD   PROBLEMS 

in  special  classes,  they  might  have  become  at  least  partially 
self-supporting;  or  even  if  their  support  must  have  de- 
volved upon  the  state,  they  might  have  been  placed  in 
institutions  before  they  turned  to  evil  and  to  crime. 

One  of  the  most  pressing  needs  of  backward  children 
is  medical  attention.  If  the  physical  defects  which  are  so 
often  the  cause  of  their  dullness  were  removed  or  treated, 
the  backwardness  itself  would  often  vanish.  However, 
public  opinion  has  as  yet  failed  to  demand  medical  atten- 
tion in  most  schools,  and  in  some  instances  wrong  ways  of 
agitating  the  question  have  prejudiced  people  against  the 
movement.  Classes  of  backward  children  should  have 
nurses  assigned  to  them  so  that  hygienic  and  medical  needs 
may  be  carefully  attended  to.  The  physique  of  each  child 
must  be  carefully  built  up.  Defects  should  be  removed  or 
remedied  and  wholesome  nutrition  provided.  Experience 
in  New  York  City  has  demonstrated  that  when  properly 
fed,  backward  children  have  achieved  wonderful  progress. 

Another  great  need  of  successful  work  in  this  line  is  a 
better  method  of  transferal  from  the  ordinary  grades  and 
the  removal  of  very  deficient  pupils.  Both  improvements 
require  the  advice  of  a  medical  inspector.  The  removal 
of  the  child  from  his  grade  should  follow  one  or  two  failures, 
provided,  of  course,  that  there  has  not  been  some  valid 
reason  for  his  defection.  Germany  has  a  wise  system  of 
admission  to  special  classes.  If  after  several  trials  children 
fail  to  advance  with  the  regular  grades,  they  are  visited 
in  their  homes  and  then  sent  to  the  special  classes  on  trial. 
After  a  few  weeks  a  committee,  consisting  of  inspector, 
school  doctor,  and  teacher,  pass  upon  their  fitness  to 
remain. 

If,  after  a  fair  chance,  backward  children  fail  to  respond 
to  special  class  instruction,  they  should  be  placed  in  insti- 
tutions and  their  places  given  to  others  who  might  profit 
by  the  opportunity.     In  order  to  make  a  success  of  special 


EDUCATION  OF  BACKWARD  CHILDREN       137 

classes,  there  must  be  room  enough  in  institutions  to  ac- 
commodate those  who  can  not  be  kept  in  the  classes.  Just 
as  the  dull  child  must  be  taken  from  the  regular  grades, 
so  the  feeble-minded  child  must  be  taken  from  the  special 
classes.  He  is  the  same  menace  there  that  the  backward 
child  is  in  the  ordinary  schoolroom. 

Most  especially  do  these  children  need  kindly,  patient, 
whole-hearted  women  as  teachers.  The  German  system, 
while  excellent  in  many  ways,  is  handicapped  by  its  choice 
of  teachers.  These  are  men,  and  they  are  usually  without 
special  training,  being  chosen  on  the  basis  of  aptitude  for 
the  work.  It  seems  that  here  if  anywhere  is  woman's 
field.  Besides,  training  of  teachers  is  absolutely  essen- 
tial.^ As  Dr.  Johnstone  says,  "What  we  need  is  forward 
teachers  for  backward  pupils."  "After-care  Committees,'' 
such  as  have  been  organized  in  England  and  elsewhere, 
are  extremely  important.  They  aim  to  keep  a  friendly 
eye  on  defective  children  who  have  left  the  special  classes, 
and  to  tide  them  across  from  school  to  life. 

7.  Organization  of  Special  Classes. 

/Most  large  cities  have  decided  that  classes  need  to  be 
situated  in  separate  buildings  so  as  to  remove  them  from 
all  association,  on  the  playground  and  elsewhere,  with 
ordinary  pupils,  and  so  shield  them  not  only  from  ridicule 
but  also  from  the  worry  and  strain  likely  to  result  from 
such  association.  These  severely  handicapped  children 
will  do  better  if  associated  only  with  their  teachers  and  with 
other  pupils  whose  powers  are  more  nearly  like  their  own. 
The  environment  of  these  schools  should  be  cheerful,  sani- 
tary, and  helpful  at  all  times.  Sufficient  yard  space,  as 
well  as  a  well-appointed  interior,  should  be  secured.     There 

*  A  few  institutions,  such  as  the  New  Jersey  Training  School  for  Feeble- 
Minded  Boys  and  Girls,  have  been  giving  short  summer  courses  for 
teachers  who  intend  to  take  charge  of  special  classes. 


138  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

should  be  a  supervisor  of  special  class  work,  who  should 
have  general  supervision  and  assist  teachers  in  arranging 
courses  and  planning  the  work  and  in  settling  special 
problems.  In  number  the  class  should  not  exceed  fifteen, 
as  each  pupil  needs  individual  attention  and  care,  and 
such  classes  can  not  be  well  graded.  The  best  plan  in 
large  cities  would  be  to  have  three  or  more  classes  in  one 
center.  This  would  allow  a  saving  in  material  equipment, 
as  well  as  make  a  slight  gradation  possible. 

The  work  done  in  the  classes  should  be  a  combination 
of  mental,  moral,  and  physical  training.  Most  classes 
base  their  teaching  on  the  theory  that  physiological  train- 
ing of  the  hand  arouses  action  in  the  brain;  hence  the 
emphasis  put  upon  manual  training,  such  as  sloyd,  clay 
modeling,  basket- weaving,  sewing,  raffia  work,  etc.,  and 
cooking,  laundrying,  and  general  housework  for  the  girls. 
Another  aim  of  manual  training  is  to  create  a  love  of  work 
and  so  give  an  ambition  to  be  self-supporting  rather  than 
dependent.^     In  many  schools  special  emphasis  is  laid  on 

1  Miss  Chase  gives  an  interesting  account  of  the  manual  work  done 
by  the  somewhat  noted  class  of  Miss  Elizabeth  Farrell  on  the  lower  East 
Side  in  New  York  City.  This  class  consisted  usually  of  from  18  to  20 
boys,  ranging  in  age  from  six  and  one  half  to  seventeen  years.  Miss 
Chase  says,  "They  always  have  some  subject  as  a  center  ;  at  present  it  is 
the  farm.  In  wood-work  they  are  making  a  house  and  a  barn,  fences,  fur- 
niture, and  flower-boxes.  They  are  weaving  the  rugs  for  the  floor,  doing 
raffia  work  and  basketry.  They  went  to  the  country  for  the  soil  to  plant 
their  miniature  fields,  and  sent  to  Washington  for  the  seeds.  In  painting, 
their  subjects  have  been  apple-blossoms  and  violets  with  an  illustrated 
trip  to  Bronx  Park.  In  picture  study,  they  have  taken  '  Oxen  Plowing,' 
'The  Angelus,'  etc.  In  arithmetic,  the  older  boys  measure,  in  a  concrete 
way,  the  rooms  of  the  house  and  the  fields.  In  their  written  work  in 
English,  they  are  having  stories  of  farm  life,  and  reports  of  personal  ob- 
servation ;  in  reading,  stories  of  dogs,  horses,  making  hay,  and  so  on ; 
in  spelling,  words  relating  to  manual  occupations,  e.g.,  soil,  seed,  leaves, 
barn.  In  nature  work,  they  are  studying  soils,  the  earthworm,  buds, 
and  seeds.  This  is  simply  suggestive  of  the  excellent  work  that  the  boys 
are  taking  up  at  present.  The  subjects  are  chosen  and  the  different 
studies  related  to  the  center  with  the  purpose  of  developing  the  social 


EDUCATION  OF  BACKWARD  CHILDREN       139 

games,  and  the  children  are  taught  how  to  play.  Instruc- 
tion in  the  usual  school  branches  is  quite  elementary,  and 
is  sometimes  a  form  of  kindergarten  instruction.  Super- 
intendent Soldan  of  St.  Louis,  who  was  intensely  inter- 
ested in  this  subject,  and  who  gave  his  last  living  thoughts 
to  the  question,  said  that  much  should  be  made  of  singing, 
that  music  possessed  a  great  power  over  the  mental  defec- 
tive, and  that  the  learning  and  memorizing  of  good  songs 
would  be  beneficial.  He  thought  much  attention  should 
be  given  to  the  spoken  language  ;  to  memorizing ;  to  read- 
ing and  spelling ;  to  writing  by  muscular  movement ;  to 
the  manual  activities ;  and  that  general  information  in 
science,  geography,  and  history  should  be  regularly  given  as 
it  proved  serviceable.  The  children  should  be  interested  in 
plants  and  animals  and  gather  knowledge  about  them.  A 
measure  of  advancement  can  in  this  way  be  accomplished. 
Everywhere  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  much 
mental  achievement  must  not  be  expected  of  these  chil- 
dren. If  they  can  be  made  self-supporting  and  self-con- 
trolling, very  much  has  been  done  to  lighten  the  burden 
of  society  and  to  ease  the  social  conscience  in  regard  to  its 
duty  to  these  handicapped  children.  Furthermore  the 
rights  of  deficient  children  can  not  justly  be  neglected,  and 
to  them  as  to  normal  children  society  owes  its  choicest 
gift  —  an  adapted  education. 

instincts  in  the  boys."     See  National  Conference  of  Charities  and  Cor- 
rection, 1904,  pp.  399-400.    ' 

For  an  able  discussion  of  the  special  schools  of  New  York  City  that 
handle  over-aged,  non-English  speaking,  and  other  below-grade  children, 
see  National  Conference  of  Charities  and  Correction,  1907.  Special 
Classes  and  Special  Schools  for  Delinquent  and  Backward  Children,  by 
Miss  Julia  Bichman. 


CHAPTER   V 

THE  NEW  EDUCATION 

1.  LiTERAKY  Education. 

Education  has  long  since  been  recognized  as  an  indis- 
pensable accompaniment  of  effective  citizenship.  Accord- 
ingly very  few  children  escape  an  elementary  education 
of  some  kind.  The  public  school  is  such  a  fundamental 
American  institution  that  it  has  reached  out  and  com- 
prehended almost  the  entire  school  population.  As  a 
factor  in  the  training  of  the  youth  of  our  land  for  the  duties 
of  life,  it  has  no  equal,  and  whatever  may  be  its  shortcom- 
ings, its  future  will  be  more  and  more  important. 

2.  Illiteracy. 

The  real  test  of  our  educational  system  depends  upon 
the  percentage  of  illiterates  among  our  native  white  popu- 
lation under  twenty-five  years  of  age.  Our  statistics  show 
that  among  the  native  white  male  population  of  the  United 
States  from  21  to  24  years  of  age,  the  amount  of  ilHteracy 
is  only  3.8  per  cent.  The  principal  European  countries 
excelling  us  in  respect  to  literacy  are  Germany,  Sweden, 
Norway,  Finland,  Denmark,  Switzerland,  and  Scotland. 
The  first  three  have  an  almost  negligible  quantity  of  illit- 
eracy, while  Netherlands,  England,  and  France  have  only 
a  slightly  higher  rate  than  ours.  In  Massachusetts, 
Connecticut,  and  nearly  all  of  the  Northern  states  west  of 
the  Mississippi  River,  the  rate  is  less  than  one  per  cent, 
but  none  of  these  states  can  compare  with  Germany,  which 

140 


THE  NEW  EDUCATION  141 

claims  an  illiteracy  among  its  army  recruits  of  only  eleven 
hundredths  of  one  per  cent.  Owing  to  the  great  illiteracy 
among  our  foreign  born,  the  rate  for  our  entire  white  male 
population  21  to  24  years  of  age  is  5  per  cent.  Many  of 
the  immigrants  have  arrived  here  too  late  to  receive  the 
benefit  of  our  public  schools  and  have  come  from  coun- 
tries in  which  education  is  but  slightly  appreciated.  The 
illiteracy  of  the  females  of  the  same  age  is  somewhat  in 
excess  of  that  of  the  males.  This  is  especially  true  of  the 
foreign  born.  Of  our  entire  population  10  years  of  age 
and  over,  10.7  per  cent  were  illiterate  in  1900 — a  con 
siderable  decrease,  however,  from  the  rates  of  the  preceding 
decade.  Although  the  negroes  form  but  11  per  cent  of  the 
entire  population,  they  furnish  nearly  47  per  cent  of  the 
illiteracy.  In  1900,  44.5  per  cent  were  classed  as  iUiterate 
compared  with  6.2  per  cent  for  the  white  population. 
In  1890  more  than  half  of  the  negroes  were  illiterate,  there- 
fore some  progress  at  least  is  indicated. 

The  rates  of  illiteracy  among  native  whites  are  only 
about  one  third  of  those  of  the  foreign  born,  but  native 
whites  of  native  parentage  have  three  times  the  illiteracy 
of  native  whites  of  foreign  parentage.  This  latter  fact  is 
due  not  to  any  special  desire  on  the  part  of  foreign-born 
parents  to  educate  their  children,  but  to  two  other  impor- 
tant considerations :  first,  the  great  majority  of  the  chil- 
dren of  immigrants  Uve  in  the  large  cities  where  education 
is  compulsory;  second,  absence  of  educational  oppor- 
tunities and  inferior  economic  conditions  are  responsible 
for  a  large  illiteracy  among  the  white  children  of  the  South, 
who  are  almost  exclusively  of  native  extraction.  In  the 
medium-sized  cities,  on  the  other  hand,  where  laws  are 
less  stringent  and  where  there  are  few  foreign  born,  the 
native  American  children  show  less  illiteracy  than  those 
of  foreign  parentage.  Out  of  160  cities  having  25,000 
inhabitants  or  more,  99  have  a  greater  proportion  of  illit- 


142  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

eracy  among  the  children  of  foreign-born  parents.  In  53, 
the  children  of  native  parents  have  the  larger  proportion, 
and  in  8  cities  the  rates  are  equal. 

The  efficiency  of  our  educational  systems  is  largely  in- 
dicated by  the  amount  of  illiteracy  in  the  age  group  10  to 
14  years.  In  1900,  this  percentage  for  all  races  was  7.1 
per  cent,  but  the  aggregate  number  of  white  illiterates  was 
less  than  that  of  the  colored,  in  spite  of  the  discrepancies 
in  relative  population.  The  lowest  rates  were  found  in 
Nebraska,  Iowa,  Oregon,  the  eastern  North  Central  states, 
and  in  Connecticut,  Utah,  and  Massachusetts.  Child 
illiteracy  is  very  high  in  the  Southern  states.  This  is  due 
to  high  rates  among  both  negroes  and  whites.^  The  cities 
enjoy  an  advantage  over  the  country  districts.  A  better 
educational  system,  better  teachers,  and  compulsory  school 
attendance  —  all  tend  to  reduce  the  proportion  of  illiteracy 
in  the  cities  to  a  lower  level  than  that  attained  in  rural 
sections.  The  aggregate  number  of  illiterate  children 
in  1900  was  577,649.  Including  adults,  the  total  number 
of  illiterates  in  the  United  States  is  more  than  six  million 
persons. 

3.  The  Adaptation  of  Education. 

The  purpose  of  education  should  be  to  fit  the  child  for 
life.  To  accomplish  this  purpose  the  child  must  become 
capable  of  adapting  himself  to  the  conditions  of  his  environ- 
ment, of  enjoying  the  higher  pleasures,  and  of  taking  his 
rightful  place  in  society.  It  is  obvious  at  once  that  no 
school  can  give  the  child  a  complete  education,  and  that 
this  is  obtained  slowly,  if  at  all,  through  the  lessons  learned 
from  activity  in  the  world  as  well  as  through  those  taught 

1  In  the  South  Atlantic  states  in  1900  the  illiteracy  of  colored  children 
from  10  to  14  years  of  age  was  computed  at  31.3  per  cent,  in  the  South 
Central  states  at  32.9  per  cent.  The  illiteracy  of  white  children  for  the 
corresponding  sections  was  9.4  and  9.8  per  cent  respectively. 


THE  NEW  EDUCATION  143 

in  the  classroom.  The  predominant  interests  of  society 
vary  from  time  to  time,  therefore  the  most  important  ele- 
ments in  education  will  also  vary.  Literary  education 
formerly  received  a  very  proper  emphasis,  and  met  popular 
needs  quite  effectually.  It  no  longer  does  so,  and  industrial 
education  must  be  added  in  order  to  adapt  the  child  more 
fully  to  the  requirements  of  modern  industry.  It  is  now 
generally  admitted  that  the  present  literary  education 
is  inadequate,  since  it  does  not  train  the  hand,  although 
the  vast  majority  of  all  persons  become  manual  laborers. 
Both  brain  and  hand  should  be  educated,  and  each  in  pro- 
portion to  the  use  which  will  be  made  of  it  in  later  life. 

4.  Present  Limitations  of  Education. 

The  most  successful  education  accomplishes  two  im- 
portant results  :  it  prepares  the  child  for  life,  and  it  sustains 
his  interest  until  the  essentials  have  been  gained.  In  an 
industrial  era  book  learning  is  plainly  inadequate.  Many 
practical-minded  children  lose  interest  in  their  work  and 
drop  out  of  school.  One  of  two  possible  consequences 
may  then  occur :  the  child  may  become  a  truant  and  even- 
tually a  delinquent,  or  he  may  enter  some  gainful  occu- 
pation and  swell  the  ranks  of  child  laborers.  In  actual 
practice  a  tremendous  decline  in  school  attendance  occurs 
after  children  leave  the  fifth  grade.  This  is  true  not  only 
where  no  compulsory  education  laws  exist,  but  also  in  the 
large  cities  with  their  exceptional  laws  and  advanced 
curricula.  In  New  York  City,  for  example,  the  sixth- 
grade  classes  show  a  dechne  of  nearly  15  per  cent  in  number 
from  the  preceding  year.  Eighth-grade  students  are  less 
than  one  half  as  numerous  as  are  those  of  the  fifth  year. 
Forty  per  cent  of  the  children  in  the  fifth  year  are  above 
the  normal  age.  Owing  to  the  large  number  who  drop  out 
of  school  from  this  grade,  the  percentage  of  over-aged  chil- 
dren in  the  higher  grades  decreases  with  each  successive 


144  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

year.  Other  cities  suffer  a  similar  experience  in  regard  to 
the  disappearance  of  their  school  population.  It  is  there- 
fore apparent  that  a  large  group  of  children  leave  the  pub- 
lic school  with  a  very  meager  and  inefficient  educational 
equipment.  This  applies  with  equal  force  to  the  parochial 
schools,  which  are  conducted  in  large  numbers  by  the  Cath- 
olic and  Lutheran  churches. 

5.  Compulsory  Education. 

The  movement  in  favor  of  compulsory  education  laws  has 
made  rapid  strides  within  the  last  two  decades.  Twenty- 
six  states  have  such  laws  applying  to  children  under  14 
years  of  age,  but  in  many  cases  the  necessary  annual  atten- 
dance is  limited  to  12  weeks.  If  children  over  14  remain 
unemployed,  many  states  require  their  school  attendance 
until  the  age  of  16.  The  New  York  law,  for  example, 
requires  attendance  for  the  entire  school  year  of  all  children 
under  the  age  of  14,  and  for  the  entire  school  year  of  un- 
employed children  between  14  and  16.  New  Jersey  re- 
cently passed  a  law  requiring  all  children  to  remain  in  school 
until  they  finish  the  elementary  grades  or  reach  the  fifteenth 
year  of  age.  Under  certain  conditions,  children  not  fin- 
ishing then  are  required  to  attend  a  day  school  until  they 
become  17.  The  South  has  been  tardy  in  the  enactment 
of  compulsory  education  laws,  but  in  several  Southern 
states  such  laws  apply  to  particular  cities  or  counties. 
Kentucky  and  Oklahoma  have  enacted  state-wide  laws, 
and  in  South  Carolina,  Texas,  and  Arkansas  some  restric- 
tions have  been  placed  upon  the  employment  of  illiterate 
children.  Such  restrictions  tend  to  keep  children  in  school. 
Compulsory  education  is  the  proper  complement  of  child 
labor  laws,  and  should  be  required  for  the  entire  school 
year  of  all  children  who  have  not  reached  the  working 
age  specified  in  the  laws.  Twenty-three  states  now  have 
provisions  of  this  sort.    The  remainder  of  the  states,  by 


THE  NEW  EDUCATION  145 

requiring  a  short  attendance  only  or  by  allowing  specific 
exemptions  from  the  operation  of  the  laws,  fail  to  protect 
fully  the  educational  interests  of  the  children.  Unless 
pupils  attend  regularly  throughout  the  year,  they  will  not 
obtain  sufficient  advantages  from  their  education.  Pov- 
erty exemptions  for  children  under  14  can  have  no  justi- 
fication. Philanthropy  should  intervene  to  provide  the 
child  with  such  aid  as  will  make  possible  his  continuation 
in  school. 

The  non-enforcement  of  compulsory  education  laws 
renders  the  advancement  which  has  been  made  less  than 
it  appears.  Attendance  and  truant  officers,  unless  pro- 
vided in  sufficient  numbers,  can  not  cope  adequately  with 
the  problem.  Efficiency  of  service  is  also  needed.  The 
poor  change  residence  so  frequently  that  children  often 
can  not  be  traced.  In  New  York  the  migrating  children 
who  work  in  canning  factories  during  the  summer  months 
receive  but  little  education.  In  many  country  districts 
throughout  the  United  States  compulsory  education  laws 
do  not  actually  increase  school  attendance.  Irregularity, 
exemptions,  and  non-enforcement  of  law,  therefore,  ac- 
count partly  for  over-aged  children  and  for  the  small  num- 
ber who  actually  graduate  from  the  grammar  schools. 
Many  children  also  leave  school  at  the  first  opportunity 
and  enter  some  gainful  occupation,  because  restless  and 
anxious  for  a  chance  to  earn  money,  however  Uttle  that 
may  be. 

6.  Untrained  Children  in  Industry. 

Thousands  of  children  enter  industry  without  having 
finished  their  primary  education  or  having  obtained  any 
industrial  training.  No  children  who  drop  out  of  school 
at  the  end  of  the  fifth  or  sixth  grade  can  hope  to  have 
acquired  direct  training  for  any  occupation  which  they 
may  enter,  but  the  seventh  and  eighth-grade  children  do 


146  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

acquire  a  little  manual  dexterity.  The  consequence  of  this 
exodus  from  the  schools  is  an  army  of  untrained  workers. 

The  child  who  drops  out  of  school  enters  the  first  avail- 
able occupation.  This  is  almost  uniformly  some  undesir- 
able trade  which  affords  but  httle  compensation.  Boys 
enter  the  messenger  service,  run  errands,  become  delivery 
boys  for  the  large  stores  or  the  small  groceries,  or  enter 
factories  and  become  general  utility  boys  with  little  pros- 
pect of  training  for  permanent  occupation.  Some,  it  is 
true,  are  more  fortunate  and  are  able  at  once  to  begin  the 
work  of  preparation  for  a  coveted  trade.  When  a  boy  is 
made  an  apprentice,  it  too  frequently  happens  that  instead 
of  being  taught  a  trade  he  is  merely  utilized  as  a  handy 
boy,  and  learns  his  trade,  if  at  all,  by  absorption.  No 
special  effort  is  made  to  instruct  him,  and  unless  he  is 
ambitious  and  aggressive  he  will  be  retarded  in  his  efforts 
to  acquire  definite  trade  knowledge. 

The  great  majority  of  children  who  inopportunely  leave 
the  public  school  for  the  gainful  occupations  necessarily 
lack  in  stability  of  mind  and  persistence  in  work.  They, 
therefore,  have  no  definite  aims,  have  no  particular  trade 
in  view,  are  willing  to  experiment  with  many  forms  of 
occupation,  and  being  without  proper  guidance  are  not 
taught  the  need  of  earnest  concentration  of  energy ;  as  a 
result  they  quickly  drift  from  one  occupation  to  another, 
and  are  often  engaged  in  many  different  employments 
within  a  single  year.  Such  a  Bohemian  industrial  career 
prevents  the  acquisition  of  skill  in  any  trade  and  a  desirable 
degree  of  specialization.  Since  the  occupations  entered 
are  usually  very  different,  the  experience  of  the  child  has 
no  cumulative  value.  At  the  end  of  several  years  he  is 
but  little  better  prepared  for  life  than  at  the  beginning  of 
his  industrial  career.  A  consistent  increase  in  wages  de- 
pends on  the  development  of  skill  in  definite  directions. 
This  skill  is  not  acquired,  so  the  boy  changes  occupations, 


THE  NEW  EDUCATION  147 

but  remains  at  a  comparatively  stationary  wage.  After 
spending  several  years  in  almost  useless  and  wasted  labor 
at  a  very  low  wage,  he  joins  the  permanent  ranks  of  un- 
skilled workers,  and  his  wages  soon  reach  a  rigid  limit  at  a 
point  below  the  level  of  present  standards  of  living. 

Our  educational  system,  which  allows  children  who  are 
almost  illiterate  to  leave  the  schools  and  to  enter  industry 
is  sadly  at  fault.  A  compulsory  education  law  which  ap- 
plies only  to  children  below  a  certain  age  establishes  arti- 
ficial and  illogical  boundary  Hues.  If  at  14  the  boy  happens 
to  be  behind  his  proper  grade  in  school,  the  state  is  not 
justified  in  allowing  him  to  begin  wasting  several  years  of 
time  in  unskilled  occupations.  If  at  14  he  is  not  pre- 
pared for  fife,  but  is  mentally  and  physically  capable  of 
adequate  preparation,  he  should  be  required  to  continue 
his  school  training.  The  fixing  of  arbitrary  ages  for  com- 
pulsory attendance  overlooks  the  entire  problem  of  indus- 
trial efficiency,  and  emphasizes  time  instead  of  accom- 
plishment. Child  labor  laws  should  so  supplement  our 
educational  requirements  as  to  prevent  the  employment  of 
all  children  not  properly  trained  in  the  schools.  Com- 
plete cooperation  between  the  two  interests  is  necessary 
for  the  adequate  equipment  of  our  youth. 

7.    Industrial  Training. 

The  industrial  training  of  all  prospective  workers  is  de- 
sirable for  two  reasons  :  first,  and  most  important,  because 
it  will  enhance  the  skill  of  the  worker,  increase  his  wages, 
raise  his  standard  of  life,  give  him  greater  economic  inde- 
pendence, and  add  to  his  general  resourcefulness  in  in- 
dustry; second,  because  it  will  increase  the  productivity  of 
society,  stimulate  inventions,  and  benefit  consumers  by 
fixing  lower  prices  for  goods. 

Two  methods  of  training  are  possible:  the  apprentice- 
ship system,  and  trade  instruction  in  the  schools.     The 


148  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

former  is  rapidly  declining,  and  will  shortly  be  unavailable. 
The  following  reasons  for  its  decline  are  given  by  the  United 
States  Bureau  of  Labor.^ 

1.  The  decline  of  personal  relations  between  master  and 
apprentice. 

2.  The  extensive  use  of  machinery  and  the  subdivision 
of  labor. 

3.  The  disinclination  of  employers  to  use  apprentices. 

4.  The  unwillingness  of  journeymen  to  instruct  appren- 
tices. 

5.  The  unwillingness  of  boys  to  become  apprentices. 

Manufacturers  are  somewhat  loath  to  grant  apprentices 
the  broad  training  necessary  for  their  permanent  welfare. 
The  speed  required  in  modern  industry,  and  the  extreme 
subdivision  of  labor,  often  induce  the  employer  to  attempt 
to  limit  the  work  of  apprentices  to  some  particular  occu- 
pation in  order  that  they  may  speedily  acquire  skill  therein. 
This  unsocial  attitude  is  opposed  by  both  the  apprentice 
and  the  labor  unions.  The  latter  demand  an  extensive 
training  of  apprentices,  and  also  frequently  insist  upon 
a  limitation  of  their  numbers.  Another  objection  to  the 
present  method  of  employing  apprentices  is  based  on  the 
practice  of  using  them  in  the  more  unskilled  forms  of  labor 
at  lower  rates  of  compensation  than  those  paid  to  journey- 
men. They  can  be  supervised  by  a  competent  journey- 
man, will  do  fairly  satisfactory  work,  and  will  lessen  the 
cost  of  production  for  the  employer.  The  restrictions  by 
trade  unions,  however,  hardly  affect  the  problem,  and  the 
larger  industrial  developments  furnish  the  chief  reasons 
for  the  decline  of  the  apprenticeship  system. 

The  problem  of  industrial  training  must  be  solved  by 
our  educational  system.     Methods  of  instruction  must  be 

^  Charities  and  Commons,  Vol.  XIX,  p.  814.  Quoted  in  article  by 
Ralph  Albertson. 


THE  NEW  EDUCATION  149 

so  revised  as  to  meet  the  new  needs  of  our  industrial  classes. 
The  purpose  of  such  training  is  not  to  satisfy  narrow- 
minded  manufacturers  who  are  seeking  for  skilled  labor 
and  who  in  some  instances  have  advocated  trade  instruc- 
tion at  an  incredibly  early  age,  but  to  equip  individuals 
for  their  life  work  and  make  them  capable  and  useful  mem- 
bers of  society.  Not  the  advantage  of  some  class  interest, 
but  the  good  of  the  social  whole,  is  the  goal  of  the  movement. 
Industrial  training  in  order  to  become  an  efficient  service 
must  touch  the  great  bulk  of  workers.  This  can  be  ac- 
complished in  one  of  two  ways,  or  by  a  combination  of  the 
two.  All  children  must  be  compelled  to  remain  in  school 
until  they  have  passed  through  the  grades  in  which  trade 
instruction  is  now  being  taught,  or  such  instruction  must 
descend  into  the  grades  until  it  affects  the  great  mass  of 
children.     Perhaps  a  compromise  will  yield  the  best  results. 

a.   Public  Instruction. 

Our  schools  have  begun  to  grapple  with  the  question  of 
trade  training,  and  are  now  beginning  with  a  plan  of  in- 
struction for  the  older  and  better  trained  children.  Ac- 
cordingly in  some  cities  trade  schools  which  rank  with 
high  schools  have  been  established.  In  these  schools  trade 
instruction  may  occupy  only  part  of  the  time  of  the  pupil, 
or  the  curriculum  may  be  limited  to  practical  training  and 
such  studies  as  bear  directly  on  the  trades  taught.  The 
former  plan  enjoys  popular  favor.  Employers  of  labor 
have,  however,  availed  themselves  but  little  of  the  skilled 
workers  trained  in  these  schools.  Pupils  also  have  fre- 
quently elected  these  courses  because  of  their  desire  for 
manual  dexterity,  although  they  have  no  intention  of  enter- 
ing the  trades.  The  class  of  students  in  the  trade  school 
of  high  school  grade  does  not  largely  supply  the  ranks  of 
labor  in  the  common  acceptation  of  the  term,  and,  there- 
fore, these  schools  fail  to  meet  the  immediate  needs  of  the 
majority  of  prospective  workers.     The  proportion  of  chil- 


150  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

dren  graduating  from  the  grammar  school  and  entering 
upon  a  secondary  education  is  so  small  that  the  limitation 
of  trade  instruction  to  this  class  prevents  the  achievement 
of  considerable  results.  Although  trade  schools  of  high 
school  rank  have  their  place,  the  solution  of  the  problem 
requires  an  extension  of  facilities  for  industrial  training. 
The  report  of  its  special  Committee  on  Trade  Schools  to 
the  New  York  Board  of  Education  illustrates  the  move- 
ment. Among  the  recommendations  made  were  the  fol- 
lowing :  — 

1 .  1  That  shop  work  be  introduced  into  all  schools  in  which 
there  are  boys  in  the  seventh  and  eighth  years. 

2.  That  as  far  as  possible  the  practical  use  of  tools  em- 
ployed in  the  wood-working  and  metal-working  trades  be 
taught  in  those  years. 

3.  That  the  workshops  be  equipped,  as  far  as  possible, 
with  the  necessary  tools. 

4.  That  shop  work  be  required  of  boys  who  reach  their 
twelfth  year. 

5.  That  the  additional  time  needed  for  the  extension  of 
work  in  the  shop  be  fixed  as  between  three  and  five  in  the 
afternoon,  on  Saturday  morinngs,  or,  if  necessary,  in  the 
evenings. 

6.  That  a  separate  vocational  school  for  boys  between 
fourteen  and  sixteen  be  established,  and  another  for  girls 
of  the  same  ages. 

The  two  salient  features  of  this  program  are  the  recom- 
mendations in  favor  of  vocational  schools  for  children  be- 
tween the  ages  of  fourteen  and  sixteen,  and  for  more  effec- 
tive manual  training.  Many  children  have  not  finished 
the  grades,  but  would  not  therefore  be  barred  from  trade 
instruction.  It  is  hkewise  considered  important  to  "im- 
prove the  efficiency  of  the  present  shop  system  in  our  ele- 

1  Annual  Report  of  Superintendent  of  Schools  to  Board  of  Educa- 
tion, 1908,  p.  125. 


THE  NEW  EDUCATION  151 

mentary  schools  by  organizing  the  manual  training  from 
a  vocational  point  of  view  so  that  it  may  bear  direct  and 
immediate  relation  to  the  industrial  efl&ciency  of  the  chil- 
dren when  they  leave  school." 

The  vocational  school  which  permits  all  graduates  of 
the  grammar  schools  to  enter  and  all  persons  fourteen 
years  of  age  who  are  sufficiently  prepared  for  trade  training, 
will  reach  a  large  group  of  children.  The  boy  of  fourteen 
who  is  still  in  the  sixth  grade  probably  needs  precisely  the 
character  of  work  provided  in  a  vocational  school.  Back- 
wardness is  often  the  result  of  inadaptability  to  the  lit- 
erary work  of  the  elementary  school.  If  the  boy  can  be 
provided  with  purposeful  manual  training  his  real  needs 
will  have  been  more  successfully  met.  Although  manual 
training  is  gradually  filtering  down  through  the  grades  and 
reaching  the  younger  children,  it  has  not  been  sufficiently 
directed  toward  immediately  useful  ends.  Shop  work  for 
all  boys  twelve  years  of  age  or  over,  and  cooking,  sewing, 
and  household  economy  for  all  girls  in  the  seventh  and 
eighth  grades  are  necessary  to  reach  the  great  majority 
of  children.  So  many  leave  school  at  the  end  of  the  fifth 
grade  that  a  large  number  of  girls  would  still  escape  the 
needed  courses  in  domestic  science.  Literary  instruction, 
however,  can  not  be  displaced,  and  the  new  adaptations 
must  consider  the  entire  gamut  of  individual  interests,  the 
social  and  cultural  group  as  well  as  the  industrial.  The 
introduction  of  useful  manual  training  in  the  seventh  and 
eighth  grades  is  proceeding  rapidly  among  the  schools  in 
our  larger  cities,  and  the  reorganization  of  the  work  will 
prove  of  immense  value  to  our  prospective  working  popu- 
lation. 

The  original  purpose  of  manual  training  is  being  diverted 
from  that  of  making  the  hands  skillful  to  that  of  training 
them  for  skill  in  the  accomplishment  of  some  useful  purpose. 
The  severe  conditions  of  modern  industry  require  men 


152  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

armed  with  manual  skill  and  trade  training,  and  the  workers 
who  are  not  properly  equipped  can  not  hope  to  maintain 
reasonable  or  progressive  standards  of  life.  The  older 
methods  of  training  provided  a  broad  education,  and  the 
departure  therefrom  results  in  a  loss  in  the  sweep  of  knowl- 
edge, but  a  gain  in  specialization  and  equipment  for  a  par- 
ticular service.  The  tendency  is  to  narrow  education, 
but  the  welfare  of  the  masses  requires  this  concession  to 
utilitarianism.  The  movement  must  be  regarded  as  a 
means  to  an  end,  and  not  as  a  desirable  goal.  Industrial 
education  represents  the  immediate  adaptation  to  the  cur- 
rent needs  of  the  present  transition  stage.  In  a  future 
society  education  may  be  compelled  to  adapt  itself  to  new 
needs,  always  with  the  distinct  hope  of  bringing  to  all  the 
greatest  possible  breadth  and  depth  of  education  and 
culture. 

Evening  trade  schools  have  met  with  less  resistance  than 
day  trade  schools.  Several  of  the  large  cities  have  estab- 
lished such  schools  for  boys  and  girls  who  work  during  the 
day  and  who  desire  to  increase  their  efficiency  by  enjoying 
the  advantages  of  these  schools.  Unfortunately  the  tax 
on  the  workers  is  too  great  to  justify  such  a  combination 
of  work  and  study,  and  means  should  be  provided  to  make 
possible  the  use  of  part  of  the  working  day  for  school  pur- 
poses, for  children  under  a  certain  age.  The  system  of 
compelling  such  young  people  who  work  throughout  the 
day  to  attend  night  trade  or  immigrant  schools  can  only 
be  justified  as  a  temporary  measure.  For  older  persons 
the  evening  school  is  more  appropriate,  and  rest  from  the 
work  of  the  day  less  necessary  for  physical  growth  and 
development. 

Opinion  is  rapidly  crystallizing  in  favor  of  public  in- 
struction in  industrial  training.  The  subject  is  agitated 
by  employers  of  labor,  by  philanthropic  workers,  and 
boards  of  education.     The  labor  unions  which  had  long 


THE  NEW  EDUCATION  153 

held  a  dubious  attitude,  at  the  Convention  of  the  American 
Federation  of  Labor  at  Toronto,  Canada,  October,  1909, 
declared  themselves  in  favor  of  trade  schools  for  children 
between  fourteen  and  sixteen  years  of  age.  They  de- 
manded, however,  that  other  subjects  be  taught  in  addition 
to  industrial  training.  Such  subjects  were  to  include  the 
sciences  that  are  related  to  the  trades  chosen,  mathematics, 
certain  English  courses,  and  special  phases  of  economic 
theory.  That  the  pubhc  school  system  should  provide 
elementary  industrial  training  is  now  generally  admitted. 
Vocational  schools  should  provide  courses  of  at  least  two 
years'  duration.  But  how  to  reach  the  children  who  would 
commonly  limit  themselves  to  a  grammar  school  is  the 
greatest  difficulty  with  which  the  advocates  of  industrial 
training  have  to  contend.  Abundant  faciUties  are  pro- 
vided for  those  who  can  afford  a  secondary  or  college 
education.  Our  state  and  private  institutions,  technical 
schools,  and  specialized  institutions  grant  sufficient  oppor- 
tunity for  advanced  training. 

6.   Private  Trade  Training. 

Apart  from  technical  schools  for  advanced  students, 
several  private  schools  adapted  to  the  needs  of  persons 
sixteen  years  of  age  or  over,  have  been  established  and  are 
leading  the  way  for  our  public  school  system.  Among 
typical  schools  of  this  class  are  the  New  York  Trade  School, 
the  Williamson  Free  Trade  School  in  Pennsylvania,  and 
the  Ranken  Trade  School  of  St.  Louis.  The  New  York 
school  provides  a  short-term  training,  the  other  two  in- 
clude courses  covering  three  and  two  years  respectively. 
In  the  New  York  school  are  taught :  plumbing,  carpentry, 
electrical  work,  brick  laying,  sign  painting,  house  and 
fresco  painting,  sheet-metal  and  cornice  work,  plastering, 
steam  and  hot  water  fitting,  blacksmithing,  printing,  and 
drawing.  The  Williamson  Free  School,  as  an  example 
of  the  type  with  a  longer  curriculum,  covers  such  trades  as  : 


154  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

carpentry,  brick  laying,  —  including  range,  furnace,  and 
boiler  setting,  —  pattern  and  cabinet  making,  machine 
trade  with  its  many  details,  steam  and  electrical  engineer- 
ing, steam  fitting,  etc.  Each  pupil  is  required  to  take  a 
preliminary  course  in  wood  carving  and  mechanical  draw- 
ing, and  a  well-developed  academic  department  supple- 
ments the  industrial  training  with  courses  in  science  and 
literature. 

Among  the  hundreds  of  private  schools  which  equip 
boys  and  girls  for  some  particular  trade  or  occupation, 
such  as  stenography  and  typewriting,  bookkeeping,  sew- 
ing, millinery,  plumbing,  etc.,  are  many  which  maintain 
such  low  standards  that  the  graduate  is  ill  equipped 
to  perform  his  work  efficiently.  Literary  requirements  are 
often  too  low,  and  insufficient  time  is  allowed  for  a  proper 
completion  of  the  course.  Very  incompetent  individuals 
are  thus  frequently  graduated  and  allowed  to  begin  their 
industrial  career.  It  behooves  our  educational  system 
to  organize  its  industrial  and  commercial  instruction  so 
effectively  that  our  boys  and  girls  can  acquire  the  needed 
training  in  the  public  schools  and  be  compelled  to  carry 
sufficient  literary  work  to  make  them  thoroughly  com- 
petent to  fill  their  position  in  industry.  In  this  way  the 
slipshod  and  inefficient  methods  of  many  private  schools 
can  be  eUminated  and  real  industrial  efficiency  be  pro- 
cured. 

8.  Instruction  in  Sex  Physiology. 

Boys  and  girls  need  instruction  in  the  fundamental 
facts  of  sex  physiology.  The  fact  that  one  fourth  or  more 
of  all  blind  children  become  so  because  of  the  immorality 
of  parents,  that  sterility  is  largely  traceable  to  vice,  that 
thousands  of  women  are  brought  to  the  operating  table 
because  of  the  immorahty  of  men  —  these  and  other  as- 
tounding facts  of  present  civilization  indicate  that  in  some 


THE  NEW  EDUCATION  155 

way  society  must  pay  attention  to  our  youth  so  that  the 
elimination  of  these  demoraUzing  results  can  be  effected. 
The  girl  suffers  chiefly  through  ignorance.  The  boy,  on 
the  other  hand,  needs  not  only  knowledge  but  a  develop- 
ment of  moral  fiber,  and  both  sexes  need  to  view  the  subject 
in  a  more  complacent  and  less  sentimental  manner.  In- 
struction is  certainly  needed.  Who  shall  provide  it  is  a 
mooted  question.  Shall  it  be  the  parents  or  the  teacher? 
The  question  must  receive  the  most  dehcate  treatment. 
Unless  the  present  attitude  of  the  child  can  be  completely 
changed  and  a  feeling  of  reverence  substituted,  instruction 
may  become  absolutely  harmful.  Parents  find  it  difficult 
to  discuss  this  subject  with  their  children  and  to  make 
them  realize  the  noble  plane  on  which  reflections  on  these 
facts  must  rest.  Children  learn  from  evil  sources,  and  are 
debased  thereby.  If  the  knowledge  gained  from  parents 
or  teachers  does  not  dignify  the  subject,  it  only  keeps 
alive  evil  thoughts  and  impulses.  It  would  be  hard,  how- 
ever, to  imagine  a  system  of  instruction  that  would  be  worse 
in  its  results  than  the  present  negligence.  If  the  subject 
is  to  be  handled  by  the  teacher,  it  should  not  be  delayed 
until  the  high  school  age,  for  few  will  reap  the  advantage. 
A  number  of  classes  in  physiology  have  successfully  in- 
cluded a  discussion  of  the  facts  of  sex,  but  this  method 
will  hardly  be  possible  for  young  children.  In  Germany, 
especially,  progress  has  been  made  by  leading  children 
through  the  natural  steps  of  plant  life  to  the  animal  and 
human  facts  of  sex.  American  societies  for  the  promotion 
of  social  hygiene  are  now  devising  methods  of  education. 


BOOK  III 

CHILD  LABOR 


CHAPTER   I 

CAUSES  OP  CHILD  LABOR 

The  causes  of  child  labor  may  be  summarized  under 
several  heads,  but  the  precise  influence  of  each  cause  can  not 
be  weighed.  The  different  contributing  factors  are  so 
interdependent  that  if  one  of  the  causes  should  suddenly 
fail  the  others  would  become  largely  inactive;  at  least 
much  of  their  coercive  power  would  have  disappeared. 
Nor  do  the  factors  work  with  equal  force  in  different  local- 
ities. In  some  regions  a  certain  cause  will  be  much  more 
powerful  than  any  other.  In  other  localities  the  remaining 
causes  will  be  by  far  the  most  potent  forces  responsible 
for  the  evil. 

1.  Avarice  op  Parents. 

That  the  greed  of  parents  is  often  the  chief  cause  of 
the  employment  of  children  is  an  undeniable  fact.  Many 
parents,  both  those  engaged  in  farming  and  those  employed 
in  other  industry,  regard  their  growing  children  as  capital 
or  economic  assets  on  which  they  hope  to  realize  as  soon 
as  dividends  can  be  declared.  Thousands  of  rural  children 
are  recorded  as  engaged  in  gainful  occupations.  Work- 
ing with  their  parents  upon  the  home  farm,  they  do  not 
usually  suffer  from  exploitation,  and  the  profits  gained 
will  ultimately  be  shared  by  the  children.  Consequently 
such  child  labor  has  extenuating  features.  Too  often, 
however,  the  farmer  compels  his  small  son  who  ought  to  be 

159 


160  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

in  the  village  school  to  assist  in  the  farm  work,  and  in  this 
way  the  boy  is  deprived  of  a  sufficient  education  to  become 
efficient  in  any  occupation  other  than  that  of  farming. 
The  small  boy  compelled  to  hire  out  to  another  farmer 
suffers  more  from  the  evils  of  child  labor,  and  his  lot  is 
not  enviable. 

Parental  greed  presents  its  darkest  aspects  in  the  attitude 
of  the  ignorant  classes  of  native  Americans  and  of  a  large 
proportion  of  the  newly  arrived  immigrant  population. 
In  fact,  the  child  labor  question  is  in  some  sections  closely 
allied  to  the  problem  of  immigration.  Children  are  ex- 
ploited for  two  principal  reasons:  first,  in  order  to  in- 
crease the  family  income ;  second,  to  enable  parents  to 
withdraw  from  work  and  live  upon  the  earnings  which 
the  children  provide.  Fall  River,  Massachusetts,  furnishes 
a  good  example  of  the  tendency  to  use  the  entire  family 
as  an  income-gaining  agency.  In  addition  to]  husband 
and  wife,  the  children  of  the  foreign  born  enter  the  mills 
as  soon  as  the  laws  of  the  state  permit.  Investigation  has 
amply  shown  that  parents  often  send  their  children  to 
work  as  soon  as  the  fourteenth  birthday  has  been  reached, 
despite  the  deficiency  in  education  which  may  exist.  Hun- 
dreds of  children  drop  out  of  school  in  the  midst  of  their 
school  year,  and  are  expected  to  become  wholly,  or  at 
least  partly,  self-supporting.  Factory  inspectors  fre- 
quently find  that  children  do  not  give  their  age  correctly 
and  claim  to  be  above  the  required  working  age,  no  matter 
how  small  or  under-aged  they  may  appear.  Furthermore, 
parents  are  often  guilty  of  perjury  in  regard  to  the  ages 
of  their  children.  In  the  anthracite  regions  of  Pennsyl- 
vania the  extensive  violations  of  the  law  are  in  part 
attributable  to  the  dishonesty  and  false  ideals  of 
parents. 

The  second  cause  of  exploitation  finds  a  less  common 
expression,  but  is  not  absent.     The  child   labor  problem 


CAUSES  OF  CHILD  LABOR  161 

in  New  England  before  1820  was  somewhat  intensified 
by  the  desire  of  parents  to  retire  as  soon  as  their  children 
were  able  to  obtain  sufficient  wages  to  maintain  the  entire 
family.  In  more  recent  years  indolent  and  shiftless  parents 
have  allowed  their  children  as  soon  as  possible  to  bear  the 
entire  burden  of  family  support.  An  extreme  case  of  this 
kind  has  recently  been  noted.  A  young  foreigner  not  many 
years  in  the  United  States,  having  married  early,  found  that 
when  he  had  reached  the  age  of  thirty-four  his  children 
were  able  to  support  him,  and  that  the  family  could  be 
maintained  without  his  aid.  He  therefore  retired,  and 
began  to  spend  his  days  in  idleness  and  pleasure.  Cases 
have  been  cited  of  fathers  in  the  cotton  mill  district  of 
the  South  whose  chief  occupation  was  that  of  car- 
rying lunches  and  dinners  to  their  children  in  the  fac- 
tories ! 

2.   Desire  of  the  Child  to  Work. 

The  desire  of  the  child  to  work  is  a  more  important  fac- 
tor than  public  opinion  has  been  accustomed  to  believe. 
The  young  child  does  not  understand  the  full  value  of  the 
education  which  he  is  receiving,  and  longs  to  leave  the  con- 
finement of  the  schoolroom  and  try  his  fortunes  in  gainful 
employment.  This  feeling  is  aggravated  by  the  fact  that 
education  is  not  fully  adapted  to  the  child's  needs.  Re- 
cent investigations  have  shown  that  a  considerable  per- 
centage of  working  children  deliberately  leave  school 
before  their  education  in  the  grades  is  completed  because 
they  are  anxious  to  avoid  the  burden  and  drudgery  of  the 
schoolroom.  They  observe  that  their  friends  and  other 
children  are  earning  some  wages,  even  though  the  sums 
be  small,  and  they  are  eager  therefore  to  vie  with  them 
in  the  distinction  of  being  in  part  self-supporting  and  of 
enjoying  spending  money  of  their  own.  In  fact,  the  child, 
instead  of  being  driven  to  work,  often  takes  this  step  volun- 


162  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

tarily.  Worse  than  that,  parents  are  frequently  unable 
to  compel  the  child  to  remain  at  school.  Such  children, 
although  eager  to  work,  are  totally  unfitted  to  enter  any 
occupation. 

3.    Greed  of  Employers. 

The  attitude  of  employers  of  labor  is  responsible  for  a 
large  proportion  of  the  child  labor  of  the  United  States. 
The  culpability  of  the  employer  in  this  respect  is  twofold  : 
first,  he  makes  the  entrance  of  the  child  into  industry 
possible  by  employing  children  who  are  pressed  into  ser- 
vice by  their  parents  or  who  deliberately  decide  to  enter 
on  their  own  initiative.  By  accepting  children  he  en- 
courages the  tendency  of  parents  and  child  workers  to 
continue  the  evil  of  child  labor.  In  the  second  place, 
many  employers  directly  encourage  and  demand  child 
labor  in  order  to  enhance  their  profits.  The  pressure  of 
parents  would  be  of  no  avail  if  employers  did  not  offer 
inducements  to  children.  Wages  indeed  are  poor,  but 
other  considerations  play  a  part.  When  the  child,  dis- 
couraged on  account  of  unsatisfactory  school  work,  turns 
to  the  factory  or  mill,  he  often  finds  a  cordial  welcome  in 
industry  instead  of  finding  the  doors  resolutely  closed 
against  him.  An  increasing  number  of  employers,  in- 
fluenced by  both  human  kindness  and  longsighted  busi- 
ness considerations,  have  reduced  the  quantity  of  child 
labor  in  their  employ,  but  a  large  contingent  still  favor 
the  employment  of  children  and  do  not  consider  the  in- 
fluence of  such  employment  upon  the  future  prospects 
of  the  child.  Progressive  employers  have  sometimes 
voluntarily  refused  to  encourage  child  labor.  In  the  South 
this  attitude  has  taken  the  form  of  temporary  agreements 
not  to  employ  children  below  a  certain  age.  Competitive 
conditions,  however,  usually  prevent  such  agreements  from 
becoming  permanent. 


CAUSES  OF  CHILD  LABOR  163 

The  attitude  of  the  dominating  faction  in  industry  is 
indicated  by  the  character  of  the  laws  in  those  states  in 
which  certain  industries  are  largely  localized.  In  spite 
of  protestations  to  the  contrary,  the  canning  and  preserv- 
ing industry  has  endeavored  to  prevent  wholesome  child 
labor  legislation.  In  nearly  every  state  in  which  this  in- 
dustry is  economically  important  it  is  wholly  or  partially 
exempt  from  the  operation  of  child  labor  laws.  The  ex- 
emption is  based  on  the  supposed  necessity  of  working 
long  and  irregular  hours  in  order  to  save  perishable  prod- 
ucts. Long  hours,  however,  are  not  limited  to  the  period 
when  additional  work  is  necessary  to  save  the  product,  but 
occur  at  other  intervals,  and  thus  represent  a  real  abuse. 
Among  many  instances  personally  known  to  the  writer 
is  that  of  a  cannery  which  operated  at  night,  presumably 
to  save  the  unusually  large  crop,  although  at  that  time 
receipts  were  actually  below  the  normal  expectation  for 
the  year.  The  crops  were  suffering  from  a  drought,  the 
output  was  necessarily  small,  yet  the  night  work  continued. 
It  thus  appeared  that  the  capacity  of  the  plant  was  hardly 
sufficient  for  normal  years,  and  that  systematic  overtime 
was  practiced.  Another  illustration  of  the  power  as  well 
as  the  attitude  of  some  employers  is  found  in  the  state  of 
Delaware,  which  exempts  the  manufacture  of  fruit  and 
berry  baskets  from  the  operation  of  the  child  labor  law, 
although  there  is  no  question  concerning  the  perishability 
of  the  product.  The  employers  who  did  not  want  the  law 
to  apply  to  their  industry  were  sufficiently  powerful  to 
prevent  its  extension. 

The  failure  of  Pennsylvania  to  prohibit  the  night  work 
of  boys  in  the  glasshouses  of  that  state  illustrates  the  power 
of  the  glass  manufacturers.  At  present  boys  of  fourteen 
and  over  may  work  in  the  glass  mills  on  all-night  shifts. 
In  no  other  state  in  which  the  glass  industry  is  important 
is  night  work  of  children  allowed,  but  in  New  Jersey  it  has 


164  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

only  recently  been  abandoned.  The  argument  that  the 
products  manufactured  are  perishable  goods  can  hardly  be 
made  to  apply  to  glass,  although  the  exemption  has  been 
made  on  this  theory.  A  conspicuous  illustration  of  oppo- 
sition by  many  manufacturers  to  child  labor  reform  is 
furnished  by  the  cotton  mill  industry  of  the  South.  Out- 
side of  agriculture  this  is  the  most  important  child-employ- 
ing industry  of  this  section.  The  South  is  rapidly  sur- 
passing the  New  England  states  in  the  cotton  industry, 
and  will  soon  manufacture  the  major  portion  of  the  cotton 
goods  made  in  the  United  States,  although  at  present  it 
excels  only  in  making  the  cheaper  products.  The  most 
determined  efforts  of  reformers  in  North  and  South  Caro- 
lina, Georgia,  and  Alabama  —  the  principal  cotton  manu- 
facturing states  of  the  South  —  have  so  far  failed  to  secure 
the  enactment  of  adequate  child  labor  laws.  In  each  of 
these  states  the  laws  fall  far  short  of  the  standards  estab- 
lished by  social  reformers.  Failure  to  restrict  night  work, 
the  low  minimum  age  limit,  and  the  absence  of  efficient 
systems  of  inspection  and  enforcement  —  all  indicate  that 
economic  conditions  and  the  influence  of  mill  owners  are 
too  powerful  to  permit  reasonable  child  labor  legislation. 
:  It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  many  Southern  mill  owners 
are  strong  supporters  of  moderate  child  labor  laws,  and  that 
manufacturers  frequently  maintain  schools  for  the  mill 
children  who  in  their  old  homes  received  no  education 
whatsoever.  Quite  singularly  also  some  of  the  strongest 
opponents  of  progressive  legislation  are  Northern  men  who 
have  invested  in  Southern  cotton  mills  and  who  are  credited 
with  willing  conformity  to  the  more  advanced  laws  of  New 
England. 

The  newsboy  has  enjoyed  greater  immunity  from  the  law 
than  any  other  class  of  working  children.  Many  news- 
papers, although  they  advocate  suitable  child  labor  laws 
for  other  industries,  are  opposed  to  legislation  which  will 


CAUSES  OF  CHILD  LABOR  165 

curtail  the  operations  of  the  vendor  of  their  own  wares. 
This  opposition  arises  from  two  causes :  the  belief  that 
the  newsboy  conduces  to  a  larger  circulation  of  the  paper, 
and  sympathy  for  the  boy  in  his  present  desires  rather 
than  in  his  future  needs.  Attachment  to  the  boy,  com- 
mendable at  the  right  time  but  not  appropriate  in  this 
connection,  aids  him  in  the  continuation  of  his  own  un- 
doing. Other  industries  which  use  their  influence  to 
weaken  or  prevent  child  labor  legislation  could  be  men- 
tioned, but  those  discussed  illustrate  an  important  cause 
of  child  labor. 

4.  Modern  Industrial  Conditions. 

Modern  industrial  conditions  have  made  room  for  both 
woman  and  child  labor  in  two  ways :  first,  by  the  use  of 
improved  machinery,  and  second,  by  such  a  minute  sub- 
division of  labor  as  to  separate  lighter  forms  of  work  from 
the  more  difficult  occupations.  Children  are  in  many 
cases  able  to  operate  a  machine  because  modern  improve- 
ments have  made  it  so  nearly  automatic.  The  machinist 
must  be  continued,  but  the  adult  operators  can  be  dismissed 
in  favor  of  the  young  boy  or  girl.  When  the  work  does 
not  require  special  skill  or  strength,  the  tendency  to  use 
the  child  is  especially  marked.  The  chief  advantage  which 
accrues  to  the  employer  from  this  substitution  is  the  use  of 
poorly  paid  child  labor  instead  of  adult  labor.  Nor  is  out- 
put decreased  by  this  change,  as  the  worn-out  boy  can  soon 
be  displaced  by  another  eager  to  obtain  his  paltry  earnings. 
In  certain  factories  young  girls  from  fourteen  to  sixteen 
years  of  age  are  taking  the  place  of  men  in  the  operation 
of  machines,  but  are  receiving  wages  no  higher  than  those 
usually  paid  to  girls  of  that  age.  The  writer  recently 
saw  a  machine  operated  by  a  girl  of  this  description.  The 
machine  was  comparatively  new,  and  had  displaced  one 
which  had  always  been  controlled  by  men.     The  new 


166  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

machine,  owing  to  the  simpUfications  which  had  been  made, 
was  not  only  operated  by  the  girl,  but  was  capable  of  a 
much  larger  output  than  was  its  predecessor.  The  girl, 
however,  received  the  regular  wages  paid  to  children. 

Modern  machinery  is  able  to  utilize  the  child  as  a  helper. 
Much  work  which  requires  time  and  running  to  and  fro 
is  apportioned  to  the  httle  boy  or  girl.  In  the  cotton  mills 
the  children  are  very  largely  used  for  this  kind  of  work ; 
for  example,  the  doffers,  bobbin  boys,  and  spool  boys.  In 
fact,  a  large  proportion  of  the  older  boys  drop  out  of  the 
cotton  mills  because  they  have  outgrown  their  work.  The 
glasshouses  use  boys  in  similar  ways ;  and  elsewhere  in 
industry  niches  for  the  employment  of  the  child  have  been 
made  by  the  convenience  afforded  by  the  helper  and  the 
apprentice.  The  extreme  subdivision  of  modern  labor 
accentuates  the  problem  of  child  labor.  A  particular 
occupation  may  thus  be  isolated  from  the  series  of  processes 
necessary  to  complete  an  article;  and  if  only  a  single  act 
of  skill  is  required,  a  child  can  become  proficient  in  a  short 
time.  In  the  clothing  trade  such  minor  occupations 
become  a  department  in  which  children  are  frequently 
employed.  The  tasks  allotted  to  small  girls  in  the  manu- 
facture of  artificial  flowers  require  little  skill ;  all  processes 
requiring  much  care  and  attention  are  performed  by  skilled 
hands,  but  much  can  be  left  to  the  work  of  the  untried 
employee.  The  comparative  facility  with  which  a  large 
proportion  of  the  occupations  in  many  mills  can  be  per- 
formed tends  directly  toward  the  use  of  the  child  wherever 
he  can  be  secured  for  the  carrying  on  of  these  occupations. 

Modern  competition  is  an  additional  factor  which  often 
paralyzes  the  efforts  of  progressive  manufacturers.  The 
margin  of  profit  is  frequently  so  narrow  that  legislation 
may  become  a  menace.  Natural  advantages  and  child 
labor  in  some  states  also  operate  to  encourage  the  use  of 
child  labor  in  other  states.     The  competitive  conditions 


CAUSES  OF  CHILD  LABOR  167 

over  which  employers  have  no  immediate  control  are  often 
responsible  for  the  antagonistic  attitude  of  employers 
toward  the  abolition  of  child  labor. 

5.    Indifference  of  the  Public. 

The  public  can  eliminate  much  child  labor  by  seriously 
opposing  the  practice.  The  culpability  of  the  public  takes 
several  forms :  direct  preference  for  the  goods  or  wares  made 
or  peddled  by  the  child  ;  a  willingness  to  allow  child  labor 
for  purposes  of  self-support  or  support  of  dependent  par- 
ents ;  inability  to  recognize  the  ultimate  results  of  prema- 
ture child  labor ;  the  desire  to  purchase  goods  at  the  lowest 
possible  cost  regardless  of  the  child  labor  which  may  be 
involved ;  and  finally,  utter  indifference  to  the  social 
problem  itself.  The  pubhc  encourages  child  labor  by  its 
willful  patronage  of  the  small  boy.  The  tiny  newsboy 
seated  on  the  doorstep  of  a  pubhc  building  gets  the  major 
portion  of  the  business  without  exertion  on  his  part,  while 
the  larger  boy  strives  in  vain  to  secure  his  share  of  the  sales. 
The  same  principle  obtains  with  the  child  selling  wares 
on  the  streets.  Sympathy  for  the  child  bhnds  reason  and 
foresight,  and  thus  the  child  is  allowed  to  continue  his 
work.  The  public  must  learn  that  it  is  not  efficient  kind- 
ness to  buy  from  the  small  boy,  but  that  such  a  policy  is 
demoralizing  to  the  child. 

In  some  of  our  states  children  are  exempt  from  the 
application  of  the  laws  if  their  work  is  necessary  to  main- 
tain dependent  members  of  the  family.  A  social  attitude 
which  allows  a  child  under  fourteen  to  bear  the  economic 
burdens  of  a  family  is  responsible  for  much  of  this  evil. 
In  some  states  the  laws  contain  a  poverty  exemption  clause. 
Children  of  tender  years  can  thus  be  exploited  and  com- 
pelled to  labor  for  hire.  Even  our  relief  societies,  which 
supposedly  are  actuated  by  the  most  prudential  and  far- 
sighted  motives,  will,  on  occasion,  endanger  the  prospects 


168  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

of  the  child  by  insisting  that  upon  his  arriving  at  the  age 
when  he  may  legally  be  employed  he  shall  immediately 
enter  some  gainful  occupation  in  order  to  relieve  the  public 
of  the  support  of  dependent  parents.  This  has  been  done 
in  spite  of  the  child's  immaturity  and  lack  of  preparation 
for  industry.  Such  societies  are  grossly  neglectful  of  their 
duty  and  short-sighted  in  their  methods  when  they  force 
the  child  prematurely  into  industry  to  relieve  themselves 
of  a  burden. 

Many  men  of  prominence  fail  to  realize  that  the  new 
industrial  conditions  require  special  preparation  on  the 
child's  part.  Because  many  men  began  work  as  mere  boys 
and  succeeded,  is  no  argument  against  wholesome  legis- 
lation at  the  present  time.  Yet  recently  United  States 
senators  in  opposing  appropriate  legislation  pointed  to 
their  own  cases  as  sufficient  proof  of  the  harmlessness  of 
child  labor.  Successful  men  frequently  oppose  good  laws 
because  they  themselves  have  not  failed  and  have  withstood 
the  disadvantages  of  premature  toil.  They  have  thus 
become  blinded  to  the  evil  effects  of  child  labor,  and  are 
often  bitter  enemies  of  the  real  interests  of  the  child  of 
to-day.  The  farming  class  likewise  fails  to  understand 
the  dangers  of  child  labor  in  the  cities  and  in  industrial 
centers,  because  farmers  are  prone  to  judge  the  results  of 
all  forms  of  labor  by  the  effects  of  labor  on  the  farm.  In  our 
legislatures  such  men  are  easily  influenced  to  oppose  needed 
legislation. 

It  thus  appears  that  while  the  specific  causes  of  child 
labor  are  numerous,  the  chief  factors  are  reducible  to  five 
heads :  the  attitude  of  the  parents,  the  ambition  of  the 
child,  the  greed  of  employers,  modern  industrial  conditions, 
and  the  indifference  of  the  public.  The  relative  importance 
of  each  of  these  factors  can  not  even  be  approximated,  and 
in  most  instances  they  cooperate  closely  to  produce  the 
evil  in  question,  but  the  absence  of  any  one  of  these  causes 


CAUSES  OF  CHILD  LABOR  169 

materially  diminishes  the  amount  of  child  labor.  As  a 
preventive  of  progressive  legislation  the  opposition  of  the 
employer  undoubtedly  stands  foremost,  but  the  non- 
enforcement  of  law  depends  upon  every  one  of  the  above 
causes. 


CHAPTER  II 
conditions  of  child  labor 

1.     Occupational  Distribution. 

The  menace  of  child  labor  lies  to  a  large  extent  in  the 
character  of  work  demanded  of  the  growing  child.  Health 
depends  partly  upon  the  opportunity  for  outdoor  work 
or  the  necessity  of  indoor  work.  Industrial  opportunity 
may  be  enhanced  or  retarded  by  the  specific  emplo3maent  in 
which  the  child  engages.  Morals  hkewise  are  contingent 
upon  the  nature  of  the  employment.  Therefore  the  occu- 
pational distribution  of  child  labor  throws  hght  upon  the 
gravity  of  our  problem,  as  does  also  the  aggregate  number 
of  children  engaged  in  industry.  The  social  attitude  toward 
the  child  labor  problem  should  be  that  of  exclusion  of  all 
children  from  all  occupations  unless  it  is  clear  that  the 
emplo3nnent  of  the  child  would  not  retard  his  development 
but  would  increase  his  opportunities  and  capacity  for 
usefulness. 

According  to  the  Census  of  1900  the  amount  and  dis- 
tribution of  child  labor  in  the  United  States  in  that  year  is 
represented  in  the  statistical  table  on  page  171. 

These  statistics  illustrate  the  distribution  of  child  labor 
among  the  five  large  occupational  groups,  as  well  as  among 
certain  subsidiary  occupations.  It  will  be  noticed  that 
more  than  one  million  of  the  workers  are  engaged  in  agri- 
culture, which  is  less  objectionable  as  a  field  of  employ- 
ment than  any  other  occupation.  Fifty-three  per  cent  of 
this  group  are  native  whites  of  native  parents,  and  38  per 

170 


CONDITIONS  OF  CHILD  LABOR 


171 


OcCtrPATIONS 


All  occupations 

Agriculture 

Professional  service 

Domestic  and  personal  service 

Trade  and  transportation 

Manufacturing  and  mechanical  pursuits    .     . 

MiNOB  OccupATioKS  (included  among  above  groups) 

Servants  and  waiters 

Laborers  (not  specified) 

Cotton  mill  operatives 

Messenger,  errand,  and  office  boys  and  girls 

Textile  workers 

Miners  and  quarrymen 

Clerks  and  copyists 

Sales  persons 


Children  from 
10  TO  15  Years 


1,750,178 

1,061,971 

2,945 

279,031 

112,362 

283,869 

138,065 
128,617 
44,427 
42,021 
35,070 
24,209 
22,005 
20,332 


cent  are  negro  children.  It  is  significant  that  only  a  small 
percentage  —  about  8  per  cent  —  are  foreign  born  or  the 
children  of  foreign  parents.  More  than  800,000  of  these 
children  were  members  of  the  farmers'  families,  and  were 
simply  assisting  their  parents.  The  chief  danger  for  a 
majority  of  these  children  is  the  probabihty  of  their  receiv- 
ing an  insufficient  education  to  meet  the  strenuous  de- 
mands of  modern  business,  both  in  the  country  and  in  the 
city. 

For  obvious  reasons  professional  service  is  not  an  im- 
portant occupation  of  the  child,  and  therefore  needs  no 
further  discussion.  Domestic  and  personal  service,  how- 
ever, claims  the  employment  of  a  large  group  of  children, 
and  with  these  begins  a  more  serious  aspect  of  child  labor. 
Children  of  native  parentage  form  only  38  per  cent  of  the 
total,  negroes  constitute  one  third,  and  the  children  of 


172  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

foreign  parents  the  remainder,  or  28  per  cent.  The  nature 
of  the  problem  differs  from  that  of  agriculture,  in  that 
purely  business,  and  not  blood,  ties  obtain  in  the  relation- 
ship of  employer  and  employee.  The  character  of  the 
occupations  falling  within  this  group  is  such  that  it  fails 
to  give  the  independence  and  opportunities  needed  by  the 
children.  About  one  half  of  the  entire  number  are  em- 
ployed as  servants  and  waiters,  and  thus  begin  at  an  early 
age  in  an  occupation  for  which  they  are  not  fitted  and  which 
promises  much  menial  work  as  well  as  moral  temptation. 
Owing  to  the  number  of  young  girls  in  this  group  of  occu- 
pations, the  moral  effects  are  especially  serious. 

Trade  and  transportation,  and  manufacturing  and  me- 
chanical pursuits,  together,  employ  more  than  400,000 
boys  and  girls,  and  the  problem  of  child  labor  applies  with 
special  force  to  the  great  majority  of  children  in  these 
groups.  The  more  noteworthy  occupations  are  those 
connected  with  the  cotton  and  the  textile  mills,  the  mes- 
senger service,  mines,  and  mercantile  establishments.  In 
trade  and  transportation,  52  per  cent  of  the  children 
employed  are  of  foreign  parentage,  nearly  all  of  the  re- 
mainder being  native  born  of  native  parents ;  the  number 
of  negroes  in  this  group  is  comparatively  small.  In  manu- 
facturing, children  of  foreign  parents  form  a  still  larger 
proportion  and  constitute  56  per  cent,  and  children  of 
native  white  parentage  form  40.5  per  cent.  In  the  cotton 
mills,  however,  the  native  element  predominates ;  this 
fact  is  due  to  the  prevalence  of  child  labor  in  the  Southern 
cotton  mills,  in  which,  owing  to  the  absence  of  an  immi- 
grant population,  the  children  employed  are  almost  ex- 
clusively of  native  parentage.  In  the  North,  where  a  fair 
comparison  of  the  relative  tendencies  of  the  native  and  the 
foreign-born  child  to  engage  prematurely  in  the  gainful 
occupations  can  be  made,  the  children  of  native  parents 
form  only  about  one  eighth  of  the  total  number  of  children 


CONDITIONS  OF  CHILD  LABOR  173 

employed  in  the  cotton  mills.  The  foreign  born  consti- 
tute one  half,  and  the  remaining  three  eighths  consist  of 
the  children  of  foreigners,  thus  indicating  that  in  the  North- 
ern states  the  problem  is  closely  allied  to  that  of  the  immi- 
grant. 

The  textile  workers  furnish  another  interesting  illus- 
tration of  the  predominance  of  the  foreign  element  in  child 
labor.  Among  the  girls  who  comprise  the  great  propor- 
tion of  the  children  in  this  group  of  occupations  only  26 
per  cent  are  of  native  parentage,  46  per  cent  are  natives 
of  foreign  parentage,  and  more  than  one  fourth  are  them- 
selves foreign  born.  In  the  messenger  service  more  than 
55  per  cent  of  the  boys  are  of  foreign  parentage,  but,  since 
this  occupation  is  largely  limited  to  the  large  cities  where 
persons  of  foreign  parentage  form  a  majority,  this  propor-. 
tion  is  not  excessive.  A  considerable  number  of  children 
are  found  in  our  coal  mines  and  in  quarries.  Of  the  total 
number  so  employed  about  60  per  cent  are  the  children 
of  foreign-born  parents.  In  the  silk  mills  in  the  United 
States  in  1900  only  57  per  cent  of  the  white  children  em- 
ployed were  of  foreign  parentage,  although  in  New  York 
and  New  Jersey  the  percentage  rose  to  75.  In  Penn- 
sylvania, on  the  other  hand,  children  of  native  parentage 
actually  formed  a  majority.  In  the  tobacco  and  cigar  mak- 
ing trades  the  native  element  is  in  the  minority,  but  in  the 
glasshouses  they  constitute  a  majority,  one  reason  for  this 
fact  being  the  establishment  of  the  glassworks  in  the 
smaller  towns,  where  the  children  of  foreign  parents  are 
less  numerous. 

Omitting  the  children  engaged  in  agriculture  and  those 
engaged  in  several  minor  and  perhaps  harmless  occupa- 
tions, it  appears  that  in  1900  about  600,000  children  were 
employed  in  industries  and  trades  in  which  their  employ- 
ment constitutes  a  serious  problem.  Tendencies  are,  how- 
ever, as  important  as  aggregate  numbers,  and  the  serious- 


174  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

ness  of  the  question  depends  largely  upon  the  changing  pro- 
portions of  children  at  work.  In  1880,  of  all  children  from 
ten  to  fifteen  years  of  age,  16.8  per  cent  were  engaged  in 
gainful  occupations,  but  by  1900  the  percentage  had  risen 
to  18.2.  Boys  and  girls  alike  shared  in  this  increase.  The 
groups  of  occupations  which  were  particularly  affected  indi- 
cate more  clearly  the  nature  of  the  change.  A  small  in- 
crease occurred  in  agriculture,  but  this  will  occasion  but 
little  harm.  The  percentage  engaged  in  domestic  service 
has  dechned,  but  in  trade  and  transportation  a  heavy 
increase  has  taken  place.  The  most  serious  change  has 
been  the  tremendous  addition  to  the  number  of  children 
engaged  in  manufacturing  —  the  group  of  occupations 
which  furnish  the  greatest  problem  of  child  labor.  Chil- 
dren have  likewise  encroached  upon  the  adult  working  popu- 
lation, and  in  1900  were  forming  a  larger  percentage  of  the 
entire  labor  force,  thus  indicating  that  they  have  in  part 
been  substituted  for  adults.  It  is  evident  that  women 
are  frequently  displaced  by  girls  and  that  to  some  extent 
boys  take  the  place  of  men.  New  industries  have  grown 
up,  and  children  are  used  in  large  numbers  to  do  the  lighter 
forms  of  work. 

The  enactment  of  drastic  child  labor  laws  in  a  number  of 
states  has  materially  decreased  the  number  of  small  chil- 
dren at  work  and  made  it  more  difficult  for  the  larger  ones 
to  enter  industry.  The  changing  attitude  in  many  locali- 
ties of  employers  of  labor  toward  the  child  has  also  as- 
sisted in  lessening  the  number  of  opportunities  for  child 
labor.  On  the  other  hand,  in  some  states  the  number 
of  children  at  work  is  perceptibly  increasing.  While  the 
number  of  children  in  the  cotton  mills  of  the  North  has 
decreased  since  1900,  the  opposite  is  true  for  the  mills  of 
the  South.  The  amount  of  such  labor  in  the  Southern  mills 
is  unknown,  but  probably  the  estimate  of  60,000  made  by 
a  representative  of  the  National  Child  Labor  Committee 


CONDITIONS  OF  CHILD  LABOR  175 

is  not  too  large,  although  this  number  is  more  than  twice 
the  total  number  of  children  employed  in  these  mills  in 
1900.  A  large  percentage  of  these  children  are  under 
fifteen  years  of  age.  In  the  Pennsylvania  mine  regions 
the  number  of  boys  at  work  has  also  increased  very  rapidly, 
owing  to  lax  enforcement  of  law  and  the  incursion  of  for- 
eigners who  look  with  disfavor  on  the  attempts  to  prevent 
their  children  from  working.  The  recent  exodus  of  silk 
mills  from  New  Jersey  to  the  anthracite  regions  of  Penn- 
sylvania is  partly  due  to  the  readiness  of  foreign  girls  to 
enter  the  mills.  The  fathers  and  sons  are  in  the  mines  or 
breakers,  and  in  order  to  give  work  to  the  daughters  appro- 
priate mills  must  be  built !  This  achievement  is  accom- 
plished by  bringing  the  mills  from  another  state  where  child 
labor  is  less  popular. 

2.    Territorial  Distribution. 

The  percentage  of  negro  children  at  work  is  much  larger 
than  that  of  the  whites,  and  since  they  live  largely  in  the 
South  the  proportion  of  child  labor  in  that  locality  is  con- 
siderably augmented.  Negroes,  old  and  young,  however, 
are  found  chiefly  in  the  rural  districts,  and  of  the  negro 
working  children,  80  per  cent  are  engaged  in  agriculture. 
Including  all  children  in  agricultural  occupations,  the 
South  furnishes  60  per  cent  of  the  total  child  labor  of  this 
country.  If  agriculture  is  excluded,  the  chief  incidence 
of  child  labor  falls  upon  the  North  Atlantic  states  and  the 
principal  manufacturing  states  of  the  Middle  West.  Al- 
though Alabama  has  the  largest  number  of  children  at 
work,  the  great  majority  of  these  are  engaged  in  agricul- 
ture. On  the  other  hand,  Pennsylvania  has  considerably 
more  than  100,000  children  engaged  in  other  than  agricul- 
tural pursuits,  and  is  followed  by  New  York,  Illinois,  and 
Ohio,  in  the  order  given.  In  the  North  Atlantic  states 
68  per  cent  of  the  total  child  labor  is  in  manufacturing, 


176  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

and  trade  and  transportation,  and  70  per  cent  of  the  female 
child  labor  is  engaged  in  these  occupations.  In  the  South- 
ern states  more  than  80  per  cent  of  the  male,  and  nearly 
70  per  cent  of  the  female  child  labor  is  in  agriculture,  but 
the  amount  of  labor  in  manufacturing  has  rapidly  increased 
since  1900. 

As  certain  child-employing  industries  are  partly  localized, 
the  states  in  which  these  industries  are  located  gain  an 
unenviable  reputation.  Pennsylvania  and  New  Jersey 
lead  in  the  manufacture  of  silk,  and  the  former  state  em- 
ploys more  than  one  half  of  the  children  working  in  the  silk 
mills  of  the  United  States.  The  coal  industry  of  Penn- 
sylvania also  employs  about  60  per  cent  of  the  entire  force 
of  boys  working  in  the  coal  mines  of  the  country,  and 
nearly  one  third  of  the  child  glassworkers  belong  to  the 
same  state.  Many  children  are  employed  in  the  canning 
and  preserving  industry.  Maryland  and  New  York  lead 
in  this  industry  and  employ  large  groups  of  children  in  the 
work  of  preparing  the  material  for  canning  and  preserving. 

3.    Age  and  Literacy. 

The  one  and  three  quarter  millions  of  child  laborers 
include  all  the  workers  between  the  ages  of  ten  and  sixteen 
years.  Naturally  the  greatest  concentration  would  be  in 
the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  years.  62  per  cent  of  the 
entire  number  fall  within  these  years  ;  thus  leaving  nearly 
800,000  who  are  from  ten  to  thirteen  years  of  age.  More 
than  one  half  of  the  child  workers  on  the  farm  are  less 
than  fourteen  years  of  age,  but  the  majority  are  merely 
assisting  their  parents.  Negro  children  begin  to  work  at 
an  earlier  age  than  do  white  children,  nearly  60  per  cent 
of  them  being  less  than  fourteen.  The  great  majority  of  all 
foreign-born  children  fifteen  years  of  age  are  engaged  in 
some  gainful  occupation.  Of  the  children  at  work  during 
the  early  years  of  life,  native  whites  of  native  parents  have 


CONDITIONS  OF  CHILD  LABOR  177 

a  larger  proportion  than  have  other  whites.  On  the  other 
hand,  they  have  a  smaller  proportion  of  child  workers  in 
the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  years.  These  facts  indicate 
that  the  children  of  American  parentage  have  a  greater 
desire  for  training  than  do  the  foreign  born  or  their  chil- 
dren. The  age  distribution  of  child  workers  in  the  various 
industries,  excluding  agriculture,  is,  according  to  the  census 
of  1900,  represented  by  the  following  table :  — 


Age  Group 

Number 

10-15  years 

688,207 
377,389 
186,366 

10—14  years 

10-13  years 

More  than  300,000  of  the  entire  group  of  children  are  fif- 
teen years  of  age,  and  only  27  per  cent  are  less  than  four- 
teen years  old.  If  the  fifteenth  birthday,  however,  is 
made  the  dividing  line,  it  will  be  seen  that  52  per  cent  of 
the  total  number  are  below  this  age.  As  many  reformers 
advocate  the  establishment  of  fifteen  as  the  minimum 
age  limit,  the  importance  of  these  numbers  becomes 
apparent. 

In  the  industries  other  than  agriculture  we  find  several 
occupations  in  which  a  large  percentage  of  children  are 
employed  who  are  only  ten  or  eleven  years  of  age.  Among 
these,  servants  and  waiters  head  the  list,  and  workers  in 
the  cotton  mills  follow.  Local  investigations  recently 
made  into  the  ages  of  boys  in  the  coal  districts  of  Penn- 
sylvania have  revealed  the  fact  that  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  boys  nine  years  of  age  and  over  were  employed  in 
and  about  the  mines.  In  the  South  likewise  many  children 
under  ten  years  of  age  have  until  recently  been  allowed  to 
work  in  factories,  and,  owing  to  inadequate  enforcement 


178  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

of  the  law,  the  percentage  of  children  under  twelve  years 
is  very  large,  but  no  accurate  estimates  of  the  total  num- 
ber can  be  made.  Investigations  in  the  mill  districts  of 
the  South  show  that  many  children  now  ten  or  twelve 
years  of  age  began  to  work  at  seven.  Small  children  not 
over  six  or  seven  years  of  age  stay  at  the  mills  during  the 
day  and  perhaps ''  help  "  a  little,  but  are  not  regular  workers. 
Exemptions  for  orphans  and  children  of  dependent  parents 
allow  such  children  to  work  regardless  of  age,  and  many 
begin  work  in  the  factories  while  very  young.  In  some 
states  during  the  summer  vacation  the  laws  do  not  apply 
to  all  industries,  and  small  children  therefore  engage  in 
the  exempted  occupations. 

Little  is  known  of  the  educational  qualifications  of  the 
child  who  is  at  work,  as  no  general  investigation  of  this 
subject  has  as  yet  been  made.  About  30  per  cent  of  all 
negro  children  from  ten  to  fourteen  years  of  age,  however, 
are  illiterate,  and  no  doubt  the  ratio  for  those  engaged  in 
gainful  occupations  is  still  higher.  In  the  Northern  states 
the  amount  of  illiteracy  is  small,  but  in  the  South  nearly 
10  per  cent  of  all  white  children  of  the  above  ages  are  illit- 
erate. The  proportion  of  illiteracy  among  the  children 
in  the  cotton  mills  is  undoubtedly  much  larger,  since  the 
major  portion  of  the  workers  are  secured  from  that  class 
of  the  population  which  has  not  yet  learned  the  value  of 
education.  A  census  of  one  mill  showed  that  twenty- 
eight  out  of  forty-one  children  were  illiterate.  The  eager- 
ness of  the  foreign-born  children  throughout  the  entire 
United  States  to  enter  industry  results  in  a  low  level  of 
learning  for  this  class,  although  the  absolute  iUiteracy  is 
small. 

4.    Night  Work  of  Children. 

One  of  the  greatest  abuses  of  child  labor  is  night  work. 
This,  however,  is  rapidly  diminishing.     Overtime,  which 


CONDITIONS  OF  CHILD  LABOR  179 

is  often  required  of  employees  in  factories  and  mercantile 
establishments,  although  much  of  it  occurs  at  night,  is  some- 
what different  in  its  essential  characteristics.  Overtime 
means  a  long  day ;  night  work  in  its  strict  sense  consists 
of  a  separate  shift  operating  part  or  all  of  the  night  and 
leaving  the  individual  free  the  remainder  of  the  time.  In 
some  cases  a  part  day  and  part  night  shift  is  operated. 

Night  shifts  in  manufacturing  establishments  do  not 
usually  include  children,  but  in  at  least  two  industries 
exceptions  occur.  In  some  of  the  glasshouses  of  Penn- 
sylvania boys  work  on  a  shift  lasting  eight  and  three 
quarters  or  nine  hours  and  operating  from  about  five  in 
the  afternoon  until  after  two  in  the  early  morning.  The 
usual  plan  is  to  require  the  boys  to  alternate  between  day 
and  night  shifts.  During  one  week  a  set  of  boys  work 
on  the  day  shift ;  during  the  next  week  they  are  required  to 
engage  in  night  work.  The  cotton  industry  has  also  re- 
quired regular  night  work  of  children.  In  nearly  all  North- 
ern states  such  work  is  now  forbidden,  but  in  the  South  until 
very  recently  many  of  the  cotton  mills  operated  night 
shifts  for  children.  Temporarily,  and  it  will  be  hoped 
permanently,  such  night  shifts  have  been  abandoned  in 
every  Southern  state  except  North  Carohna,  where  a  num- 
ber of  mills  still  employ  children  at  night.  In  the  cotton 
mills,  unfortunately,  very  small  children  have  been  used 
at  night,  whereas  in  the  Pennsylvania  glasshouses  few 
boys  under  fourteen  years  are  actually  employed  during 
the  midnight  hours. 

Another  group  of  occupations  in  which  injurious  night 
work  is  carried  on  is  the  street  trades.  The  principal 
occupations  are  those  of  the  newsboy  and  the  messenger 
service.  Both  groups  often  carry  on  their  work  far  into 
the  night,  and  the  newsboy  is  often  on  duty  very  early  on 
Sunday  mornings.  Selling  flowers  and  other  small  trinkets 
represents  a  minor  form  of  the  street  trades. 


180  CHILD  PROBLEMS 


5.  Overtime. 

Overtime  employment,  even  in  the  states  where  fairly 
acceptable  child  labor  laws  are  in  operation,  still  continues. 
The  principal  occupations  in  which  overtime  for  children 
is  required  are  the  seasonal  trades.  On  account  of  the 
necessity  of  doing  the  major  portion  of  the  year's  work 
within  a  comparatively  short  time,  these  industries  engage 
in  overtime  during  a  part  of  the  year  and  operate  on  short 
time  during  the  remainder.  Among  the  trades  in  which 
children  are  largely  represented  and  compelled  to  work 
overtime  are :  the  paper-box  industry,  the  confectionery 
trade,  the  canning  and  preserving  of  fruits  and  vegetables, 
artificial  flower  making,  toy  making,  and,  to  a  limited 
extent,  the  making  of  cotton  and  woolen  goods. 

The  period  of  overtime  extends  from  a  few  days,  as  in 
some  of  the  mercantile  establishments,  to  three  months,  as 
in  many  candy  factories.  The  amount  of  overtime  is 
often  excessive,  and  frequently  children  are  employed 
thirteen  or  fourteen  hours  per  day  for  three  or  four  days 
per  week.  The  majority  of  factories  engaging  in  overtime 
limit  themselves  to  not  more  than  four  nights  per  week. 
Although  factories  sometimes  operate  until  ten  o'clock, 
and  in  some  instances  on  Sundays  as  well,  the  usual  closing 
hour  for  overtime  work  is  at  or  before  nine  p.m.  In  the 
cheaper  stores  in  some  cities  the  doors  are  not  closed  in  the 
pre-Christmas  season  until  very  late  in  the  evening  —  a 
limit  of  eleven-thirty  p.m.  having  been  recently  reached 
in  one  large  city  ! 

6.  Home  Work. 

Child  labor  in  the  home  is  one  of  the  most  injurious  forms 
in  which  the  evil  manifests  itself.  It  usually  degenerates 
into  labor  in  the  poorest  tenements  and  under  the  worst 
housing  conditions.     The  practice  is  usually  confined  to 


CONDITIONS  OF  CHILD  LABOR  181 

the  children  of  foreigners,  especially  Bohemians  and  Italians. 
The  chief  industries  subject  to  this  form  of  child  labor 
are :  artificial  flower  making,  the  making  of  white  goods 
of  various  kinds,  the  clothing  trade,  and  cigar  and  cigarette 
making.  The  chief  evils  of  and  difficulties  in  meeting 
this  form  of  child  labor  are  the  following :  — 

1.  Hours  are  almost  invariably  excessive,  and  the  wages 
of  the  children  are  absurdly  low. 

2.  Children  of  all  ages  from  three  to  sixteen  years  have 
been  found  at  work  in  these  homes. 

3.  Manufacturing  is  carried  on  in  unlicensed  homes 
because  inspection  can  never  be  adequate  and  therefore 
homes  escape  investigation. 


CHAPTER   III 

physiological  aspects  of  child  labor 

1.   Importance  of  Physical  Development. 

The  bad  effect  upon  bodily  gro^vth  and  physiological 
development  is  one  of  the  most  important  objections  to 
child  labor.  Society  must  attempt  to  make  the  individual 
capable  of  self-support,  and  can  not  afford  to  incapacitate 
him  by  forcing  him  into  premature  employment.  Death 
does  not  remove  him  as  soon  as  he  becomes  a  public  charge, 
and  the  state  must  expend  its  energies  to  maintain  him. 
The  interests  of  society  demand  men  and  women  of  phys- 
ical vigor,  therefore  every  effort  should  be  made  to  develop 
the  child  into  a  strong,  healthy  person. 

In  childhood  the  foundation  is  laid  for  strength,  vigor, 
and  general  healthfulness.  Activity  is  the  keynote  of 
this  development,  but  this  does  not  imply  that  the  work 
of  the  factory  will  furnish  the  needed  exercise.  On  the 
contrary,  this  is  exactly  what  the  factory  fails  to  accom- 
plish. The  vigorous  man  requires  a  symmetrical  develop- 
ment, and  this  can  be  secured  only  by  combining  the  use  of 
all  the  five  hundred  muscles  of  the  body.  The  self-chosen 
activities  of  the  child  are  a  better  means  of  providing  the 
necessary  exercise  than  are  the  monotonous  operations 
of  the  factory,  and  whatever  interferes  with  his  needed 
playtime,  be  it  work,  school,  or  sickness,  handicaps  him  in 
his  proper  development.  By  means  of  play,  exercise,  out- 
door sports,  and  other  similar  activities,  the  child  develops 
brain,  nerves,  and  muscles,  promotes  a  good  circulation 

182 


PHYSIOLOGICAL  ASPECTS  OF  CHILD  LABOR     183 

of  the  blood,  and  compels  nature  to  provide  a  strong  and 
adequate  physical  structure.  Industrial  capacity  depends 
upon  this  development. 

2.    Present  Physical  Requirements. 

The  need  of  strong  men  and  women  in  industry  is  greater 
than  ever  before.  The  domestic  system  did  not  sap  the 
energies  of  men  as  does  the  strain  of  modern  labor.  Cer- 
tain diseases,  such  as  apoplexy,  heart  disease,  and  Bright's 
disease,  are  increasing  their  proportion  of  fatalities,  and 
extreme  longevity  is  becoming  less  common.  Further- 
more, the  stress  of  the  factory  and  workshop  shortens  the 
trade  life  of  thousands  of  laborers,  and  provision  must  be 
made  for  them  in  their  old  age.  After  the  age  of  forty- 
five  the  individual  who  has  not  established  himself  or  who 
loses  his  position  has  extreme  difficulty  in  again  adjusting 
himself  favorably  in  the  industrial  system.  Some  firms 
will  not  engage  the  services  of  any  new  man  who  has  at- 
tained this  age,  although  they  will  retain  their  own  em- 
ployees. Voluntary  pension  systems  are  springing  up  to 
care  for  many  in  their  old  age,  but  in  not  a  few  cases  the 
aged  are  asked  to  resign.  A  significant  movement  has 
recently  taken  place  in  teaching  circles,  and  one  large 
university  has  made  sixty-five  the  age  limit  for  its  pro- 
fessors. Upon  reaching  this  age  they  are  expected  to 
resign.  The  trade  life  of  the  ordinary  worker,  is,  however, 
much  shorter  than  that  of  those  engaged  in  professional 
work,  and  the  average  child  worker  may  be  expected  to 
join  the  former  class  of  laborers.  There  is  a  large  group 
of  confessedly  dangerous  trades,  besides  many  others, 
which  slowly  undermine  the  strength  and  vitality  of  the 
worker.  The  average  physical  requirements  of  to-day 
are  therefore  much  higher  in  all  industries  than  they  for- 
merly were.  The  comparative  inefficiency  of  the  foreigner 
unaccustomed  to  the  muscle-producing  American  foods 
emphasizes  the  need  of  physical  vigor. 


184  CHILD  PROBLEMS 


3.  Effect  of  Premature  Employment. 

During  the  period  of  its  growth  the  body  of  the  child 
is  more  or  less  plastic.  This  susceptibility  to  external 
impressions,  and  the  long  years  of  plasticity,  make  the 
highest  development  possible,  or  under  untoward  circum- 
stances may  cause  the  individual's  ruin.  At  the  age  of 
puberty  the  body  undergoes  a  considerable  transformation, 
and  injuries  often  leave  permanent  effects.  The  boy  is 
harmed  by  improper  development,  but  the  girl  suffers 
more  severely  from  the  effects  of  unnatural  activities  at 
this  period,  and  overstrain  is  especially  dangerous.  The 
muscles  are  easily  affected  at  about  the  thirteenth  year, 
as  it  is  the  period  of  their  hardening,  and  excessive  strain 
may  produce  a  tension  which  will  prove  permanently 
injurious.  The  child  may  also  become  dwarfed  or  stunted  ; 
if  so,  almost  unlimited  effort  will  be  required  to  induce 
development  in  later  years.  The  physical  decline  of  the 
English  people,  which  resulted  in  lower  requirements  for 
enlistment  in  the  British  army  during  the  Boer  War,  is  in 
large  measure  attributed  to  the  former  presence  of  child 
labor  and  to  inferior  housing  conditions  of  large  numbers 
of  the  English  people.  The  seeds  of  child  labor  yield  a 
harvest  of  physical  degenerates.  The  working  child  tends 
to  become  anemic,  and  the  various  organs  of  his  body 
receive  insufficient  nourishment.  Muscles  in  certain 
parts  of  the  body  are  over-developed  ;  while  others,  owing 
to  their  weakness  and  lack  of  exercise,  fail  to  develop,  and 
the  child  becomes  deformed.  Work,  as  carried  on  in  mod- 
ern industry,  can  not  perform  the  beneficent  function  of 
play. 

4.  Incidental  Results  of  Child  Labor. 

Certain  specific  conditions  of  child  labor  are  specially 
harmful.    The  constant  standing  to  which  many  children 


PHYSIOLOGICAL  ASPECTS  OF  CHILD  LABOR  185 

are  subjected  is  often  the  cause  of  very  injurious  results. 
And  in  some  industries  girls  are  often  compelled  to  stand 
for  hours  at  a  time  —  a  tension  which  frequently  is  the 
cause  of  much  harm.  Besides  acquiring  flatfoot  and 
placing  excessive  strain  upon  certain  muscles,  the  girl 
frequently  suffers  from  internal  derangements.  In  the 
candy  and  paper-box  factories,  as  well  as  in  many  textile 
mills,  standing  is  common,  while  in  stores  small  girls  are 
almost  invariably  on  their  feet,  although  moving  to  and 
fro.  The  bundle  wrappers  often  stand  in  one  spot  all  day. 
Rest  while  at  work  depends  upon  a  change  in  position 
and  in  the  use  of  a  new  set  of  muscles  so  as  to  allow  the 
wearied  ones  to  recover  from  their  fatigue.  For  this 
reason  constant  sitting  is  nearly  as  laborious  and  tiresome 
as  the  standing  posture,  and  frequently  involves  a  cramped 
position  which  injures  the  lungs  and  prevents  the  full  and 
free  development  of  the  chest.  The  workers  subjected  to 
these  conditions  are  very  susceptible  to  the  various  lung 
diseases.  The  cramped  position  which  constant  sitting 
necessitates  also  tends  to  deform  the  growing  child. 

5.  Unhealthful  Occupations. 

Certain  industries  are  by  nature  injurious  to  the  worker 
and  especially  to  the  plastic  child.  Among  these  are  cer- 
tain industries  in  which  a  large  amount  of  dust  is  formed. 
The  boys  working  in  the  breakers  of  our  coal  mines  are 
continually  compelled  to  breathe  the  black  dust  in  which 
they  are  enveloped.  In  a  short  time  their  lungs  are  so 
jBlled  with  dust  that  they  turn  completely  black,  and  the 
constant  presence  of  this  foreign  substance  undoubtedly 
interferes  with  the  free  function  of  the  lungs  and  retards 
the  full  development  of  the  child.  Many  stunted  and 
unreasonably  small  boys  are  found  at  work  in  the  coal 
regions  of  Pennsylvania. 

In  the  textile  mills  the  lint  and  dust  are  noticeably 


186  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

injurious,  and  the  best  of  mills  can  not  entirely  escape  the 
presence  of  these  substances.  Artificial  methods  of  allay- 
ing the  dust  and  of  minimizing  the  diffusion  of  lint  through- 
out the  air  have  accomplished  much  toward  the  creation 
of  an  unpolluted  atmosphere,  but  mills  should  likewise 
refuse  to  employ  small  and  young  children.  The  cotton 
lint  may  be  undiscernible  in  the  air,  but  its  presence  is 
indicated  by  a  deposit  of  the  substance  upon  stationary 
objects.  The  air  is  breathed  by  the  children,  the  lint  pene- 
trates to  the  lungs,  and  can  with  difficulty  be  thrown  off 
by  them.  Therefore  the  child  is  bound  to  suffer  phj^sically 
from  this  admittedly  injurious  substance.  The  initial 
processes  in  the  manufacture  of  goods  from  flax  and  hemp 
occasion  a  vast  quantity  of  dust,  and  much  of  the  pre- 
liminary work  is  done  by  children.  Often  the  workers  are 
surro.unded  by  a  cloud  of  dust  which  irritates  the  throat 
and  bronchial  tubes.  The  wool  dust  is  especially  harmful, 
but  recent  industrial  improvements  have  greatly  dimin- 
ished its  deleterious  consequences  in  the  better  grade  of 
mills.  The  dust  of  the  tobacco  leaf  is  injurious,  because 
it  contains  a  poisonous  substance.  A  large  number  of 
children  are  found  in  tobacco  factories  in  the  North  and 
the  South,  and  the  occupations  pursued  require  the  con- 
stant breathing  of  this  poisonous  fume.  The  principal 
effects  of  the  dust  on  the  child  are  the  development  of 
nervous  affections  and  of  nausea,  the  latter  condition  re- 
sulting more  frequently  among  girls  than  among  boys. 
A  predisposition  to  disease  is  also  developed,  and  even 
adults  suffer  from  the  effects  of  work  in  tobacco  factories, 
many  of  which  are  most  unsanitary.  This  is  especially 
true  of  the  smaller  shops  where  the  under-aged  child  is 
so  frequently  found.  Injurious  dusts  are  common  in  mills 
of  various  kinds,  and  in  all  cases  the  child  suffers  more 
severely  than  the  adult  worker  because  of  physical  im- 
maturity. 


PHYSIOLOGICAL^  ASPECTS  OF  CHILD  LABOR     187 

Rapid  variations  in  temperature  produce  baneful  con- 
sequences. Such  changes  are  common  in  the  glasshouses, 
in  which  boys  are  frequently  employed.  Some  of  the  boys 
work  close  by  the  furnaces,  and  are  continually  subjected 
to  the  fierce  heat,  while  others  run  to  and  fro  and  thus 
alternate  between  currents  of  hot  and  moderate  air.  The 
excessive  heat,  the  cooler  air,  and  the  drafts,  combine  to 
undermine  the  health  of  the  boys.  In  some  factories,  such 
as  confectionery  establishments,  certain  rooms  are  heated 
or  cooled  to  specifically  required  temperatures  and  the 
child  does  his  work  at  that  constant  temperature.  The 
cool  rooms  are  the  more  unhealthful,  as  the  girl  employed 
does  not  usually  exercise  the  necessary  precautions  re- 
quired to  protect  her  against  the  cold;  and  the  change 
from  one  level  of  temperature  to  another  is  likewise  fraught 
with  dangers.  Many  textile  mills  are  overheated  and  pro- 
duce debilitating  effects,  and  the  majority  of  laundries 
are  necessarily  warmer  than  the  outside  air.  Children 
can  not  escape  the  heat  of  the  laundry,  and  the  dislike  of 
many  employees  to  allow  the  drafts  to  handicap  them  in 
their  work  often  results  in  insufl^cient  ventilation.  In  the 
summer  months  frequent  faintings  occur  on  account  of  the 
heat,  both  children  and  young  women  suffering  from  this 
misfortune.  Fans  and  ventilators  in  the  better  class  of 
laundries  now  diminish  the  harmful  effects  of  excessive 
heat.  Over-exertion  in  the  heat  of  glasshouses  or  laun- 
dries is  an  especial  danger  of  the  summer  months,  and 
many  laundries  operate  a  longer  day  during  the  summer 
than  during  the  cooler  months. 

Moisture  is  another  cause  of  physical  discomfort.  Dr. 
Sewall,  in  her  investigations,  found  barefooted  girls  in 
some  of  the  flax-spinning  rooms,  while  in  others  the  girls 
wore  rubbers  to  protect  themselves  from  the  wet  floors.^     In 

1  Child  Labor  in  the  United  States.  Bulletin  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Labor, 
No.  52. 


188  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

bleacheries,  half-naked  boys  were  trampling  cloth  in  deep 
vats,  and  in  the  bottling  department  of  one  brewery  the 
boys  wore  rubber  boots.  In  another,  wooden  shoes  were 
used.  In  some  laundries  the  moisture  is  drawn  off  by 
means  of  hoods,  and  thus  the  bad  effect  of  steam  is  miti- 
gated. 

Aside  from  the  tobacco  industry,  few  children  are  en- 
gaged in  occupations  bringing  them  in  contact  with  very 
poisonous  substances.  The  extreme  susceptibility  of  the 
child  to  such  substances  has  generally  kept  child  labor  from 
these  industries.  In  dye-houses  or  in  establishments  where 
dyeing  forms  one  of  the  occupations  boys  are  occasionally 
found.  Here  they  are  required  to  use  coloring  matter 
of  various  kinds  for  artificial  flowers,  and  for  certain  pro- 
cesses in  textile  mills.  In  some  enameling  works  the  use 
of  lead  is  an  unhealthful  element.  Varnish  and  paint  also 
injure  the  young  child.  In  many  trades  children  suffer 
severely  from  accidents  resulting  from  their  natural  care- 
lessness. It  is  true  that  many  times  children  do  not  appear 
to  be  injured  from  factory  life,  but  are  nevertheless  physi- 
cally affected  and  later  reap  the  results. 

6.  Effect  of  Night  Work. 

The  physiological  disadvantage  of  night  work  is  far 
greater  than  that  of  employment  during  the  day.  This 
applies  especially  to  indoor  work,  although  night  work 
in  the  street  trades  is  also  a  cause  of  physical  depletion. 
The  night  work  which  takes  the  form  of  overtime  is  harm- 
ful because  of  the  long  hours  which  are  usually  involved. 
In  this  case  the  injurious  effects  are  serious  because  recov- 
ery from  extreme  exhaustion  is  proportionally  more  diffi- 
cult than  from  ordinary  weariness.  The  bad  effect  of  long 
hours  is  cumulative.  The  first  obstacle  which  the  night 
worker  encounters  is  the  difficulty  of  habituating  himself 
to  the  unnatural  change.     Night  work  is  not  in  accordance 


,    PHYSIOLOGICAL  ASPECTS  OF  CHILD  LABOR     189 

with  the  wish  of  nature,  and  the  individual  profits  best  by- 
using  the  night  for  purposes  of  sleep.  Daylight  does  not 
lend  itself  to  efficient  rest.  The  air  is  full  of  noises,  and 
boys  can  not  entirely  isolate  themselves  from  all  disturbing 
factors.  Because  they  can  not  sleep  they  are  out  again  by 
noon  engaged  in  play  or  sport.  Some  time  must  elapse 
before  the  child  can  train  himself  to  sleep  sufficiently  during 
the  day  to  meet  his  needs.  Where  the  same  child  alter- 
nates weekly  between  day  and  night  shifts,  as  he  does  in 
some  Pennsylvania  glasshouses,  time  is  not  given  to  adjust 
himself  to  the  ever-changing  conditions.  Therefore  his 
physical  energy  is  slowly  sapped,  and  injurious  results  follow. 
Night  work  also  invariably  involves  the  use  of  artificial 
light,  and  confinement  to  its  use  is  measurably  harmful. 
The  custom  in  some  factories  of  operating  only  part  of  the 
night  results  in  turning  the  factory  hands  out  in  the  very 
middle  of  the  night,  and  the  change  for  the  young  boys  is 
often  distinctly  unfavorable.  The  child  who  works  at 
night  is  generally  less  efficient  than  the  child  who  works 
an  equal  number  of  hours  during  the  daytime.  This 
inefficiency  is  a  sign  of  physical  injury.  The  abandon- 
ment of  night  work  by  many  manufacturing  establishments 
is  in  part  due  to  the  recognition  of  its  inherent  disadvan- 
tages, and  the  enactment  of  laws  forbidding  child  labor  in 
the  factories  at  night  is  a  further  indication  of  this  point 
of  view. 

7.  Resume. 

The  emphasis  which  is  being  increasingly  placed  upon 
good  physique,  and  the  growing  need  of  this  qualification, 
demonstrates  the  importance  of  the  consideration  of  the 
physiological  effects  of  child  labor.  For  in  this  phase  of 
the  problem  lies  much  of  the  rationale  of  stringent  child 
labor  laws.  Premature  employment  during  the  day  or 
employment  at  night  paves  the  way  for  those  physical 


190  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

disabilities  which  result  in  an  early  incapacity  for  self- 
support,  or  in  excesses  of  divers  kinds  which  hasten  the 
breakdown  of  the  individual.  The  conservation  of  energy 
and  the  production  of  the  best  types  of  physical  vigor  are 
inexorably  necessary  in  the  complicated  civihzation  of  to- 
day. Both  economic  and  social  conditions  require  high 
standards  of  physique,  and  the  following  summary  of  the 
physiological  effects  of  child  labor  will  indicate  the  various 
results  which  must  be  prevented  if  we  are  to  retain  a  vig- 
orous manhood  and  womanhood. 

1.  Physical  development  is  retarded  or  entirely  stopped. 

2.  The  muscles  remain  weak,  anemic  conditions  ensue, 
and  nervous  excitability  results. 

3.  Cramping  leads  to  tuberculosis  or  insufficient  chest 
development. 

4.  Certain  postures  produce  lateral  curvature  of  the 
spine. 

5.  Pelvic  disorders  occur  among  the  girls  who  are  sub- 
jected to  constant  standing. 

6.  Slow  devitalization  follows  the  inhalation  of  poisonous 
substances. 

7.  The  child  does  not  develop  symmetrically,  and  de- 
formities follow. 

8.  In  night  work  all  the  bad  conditions  of  the  day  are 
aggravated. 


CHAPTER   IV 
general  effects  op  child  labor 

1.   Introduction. 

The  original  opposition  to  child  labor  was  largely  based 
on  humanitarian  motives.  The  horrible  conditions  which 
formerly  prevailed  finally  determined  sympathetic  men 
to  abolish  the  atrocious  system.  The  economists  at  first 
opposed  its  abolition  on  account  of  the  reputed  detriment 
to  the  industries  affected,  but  later  they  discovered  an 
economic  justification  for  such  legislation.  This  evolution 
first  took  place  in  England,  but  in  the  United  States  an 
almost  similar  development  occurred.  Here  the  original 
attitude  toward  child  labor  was  the  exact  opposite  of  the 
one  held  to-day.  When  our  manufacturing  enterprises 
began  to  spring  up  in  the  Eastern  states,  it  was  generally 
believed  that  industry  could  be  made  more  productive 
and  children  more  useful  by  their  employment  in  gainful 
occupations,  especially  in  the  manufacture  of  textiles. 
The  cotton  and  woolen  mills  therefore  soon  began  to  swarm 
with  little  children  called  from  the  farms  and  small  towns 
of  New  England.  The  wages  received  were  absurdly  low, 
but  this  agreeable  desideratum  made  the  business  more 
profitable  to  the  capitalist !  In  1812  many  children  were 
employed  at  less  than  a  half  dollar  per  week,  but  by  1832 
boys  in  the  cotton  mills  commonly  received  $1.75  for  a 
week's  work.  Our  legislators  were  more  interested  in 
the  needs  of  industry  than  in  those  of  the  child;  there- 
fore they  directly  encouraged  child  labor. 

191 


192  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

The  labor  of  the  child  under  the  domestic  system  differed 
essentially  from  present  labor  in  the  factory  or  in  the  tene- 
ments, but  this  contrast  was  not  appreciated  by  the  early 
economists  or  the  American  statesmen  of  the  beginning 
of  the  nineteenth  century.  The  requisites  for  economic 
survival  were  likewise  different  then  from  the  requisites 
of  to-day  and  child  labor  was  less  detrimental  in  its  social 
effects.  A  strong  impetus  was  therefore  given  to  the  em- 
ploynient  of  children  wherever  they  could  be  used.  Com- 
pulsory education  had  not  yet  dawned,  and  women  were 
denied  the  opportunity  of  acquiring  any  considerable  de- 
gree of  learning.  Consequently  no  impelling  motive  existed 
to  prevent  the  child  from  entering  some  gainful  occupation. 
Changing  social  standards  have  now  awakened  the  Amer- 
ican people  to  the  seriousness  of  the  child  labor  problem. 

2.  Economic  Cost  of  Child  Labor. 

The  economic  disadvantage  of  child  labor  is  self-evident, 
consequently  the  subject  only  needs  elaboration  along 
certain  lines.  One  of  the  direct  economic  effects  of  child 
labor  is  a  shortening  of  the  period  of  trade  life,  owing  to  the 
physical  depletion  which  results  from  premature  labor 
in  factories  and  insanitary  workshops.  As  has  been  shown 
in  another  chapter,  the  present  conditions  of  industry  are 
such  that  the  boy  who  begins  to  work  at  an  early  age  will 
be  unable  to  endure  the  strain  of  industry  as  long  as  the 
child  not  subjected  to  premature  toil.  It  is  important, 
therefore,  that  such  precautionary  measures  be  taken  as 
will  offer  the  greatest  opportunity  for  an  extension  by 
every  individual  of  his  industrial  career.  Child  labor  draws 
prematurely  upon  our  economic  assets,  and  thus  diminishes 
the  amount  of  available  labor  power.  By  employing  the 
labor  before  it  is  mature  an  earlier  yield  upon  the  investment 
will  be  realized,  but  the  human  being  will  be  exhausted  so 
much  sooner  that  great  harm  will  have  been  done  and  the 


GENERAL  EFFECTS  OF  CHILD  LABOR        193 

total  trade  life  will  be  actually  shorter.  The  economic 
loss  caused  by  this  handicap  depends  upon  two  results : 
the  death  of  the  child  or  of  the  worker  in  middle  life,  or 
the  disablement  of  the  child  through  accident,  which  may 
cause  partial  or  total  incapacity  for  work.  The  mortality 
of  children  in  a  number  of  industries,  such  as  cotton  and 
glass  manufacture,  is  too  high,  and  obviously  is  caused  in 
part  by  their  employment,  although  precise  statistics  on 
the  subject  have  not  yet  been  collaborated.  The  economic 
loss  due  to  a  higher  mortality  can  not  be  replaced. 

Accident  as  an  economic  cost  is  receiving  greater  attention 
as  the  appalling  loss  of  human  life  in  industry  is  becoming 
better  known.  The  child  is  more  prone  to  accidents  than 
the  adult,  and  will  suffer  even  in  industries  regarded  as 
comparatively  safe.  Young  boys  and  girls  are  naturally 
careless,  and  are  frequently  the  victims  of  accidents  which 
maim  them  for  life  and  lessen  their  economic  capacity. 
The  accident  rate  for  girls  has  been  shown  to  be  especially 
high.  Children  are  allowed  or  compelled  to  tend  machines 
requiring  the  utmost  care  of  the  adult  operator,  and  serious 
injury  becomes  almost  inevitable.  The  danger  is  often 
the  greatest  for  the  very  class  least  capable  of  declining 
to  accept  hazardous  employment.  Several  states,  includ- 
ing Illinois  and  Missouri,  have  enacted  laws  forbidding  the 
employment  of  children  in  certain  occupations  in  which 
danger  from  accidents  is  considerable.  Few  states,  how- 
ever, have  enacted  other  than  general  laws  prohibiting 
the  employment  of  children  in  dangerous  occupations. 
Unless  the  industries  are  specified,  such  laws  have  but 
little  value. 

The  general  physiological  effects  of  premature  employ- 
ment all  operate  to  lessen  the  economic  efficiency  of  the 
individual.  These  effects,  as  has  been  shown,  may  be 
of  a  varied  character.  Whether  they  result  in  deformity, 
stunted  physique,  weak  internal  organs,  or  in  some  other 


194  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

defect,  the  result  is  uniform  —  a  loss  of  capacity  for  work 
and  an  early  retirement  from  the  industrial  field.  An- 
other economic  effect  of  child  labor  is  the  low  eflaciency 
of  the  child  owing  to  a  failure  to  receive  proper  training 
and  education.  The  child  necessarily  enters  industry 
without  having  acquired  a  trade  education.  He  there- 
fore joins  the  ranks  of  unskilled  labor.  He  may  be  re- 
quired to  perform  the  routine  work  of  a  very  simple  occu- 
pation in  which  he  may  acquire  remarkable  skill  and 
dexterity.  If  he  has  patience,  and  the  monotony  is  not 
too  oppressive,  he  may  be  successful  for  a  time,  but  his 
specialization  is  so  extreme  that  no  other  employments 
are  open  to  him  in  case  of  sudden  dismissal  from  his  occu- 
pation. Child  labor  therefore  promotes  a  division  of 
labor  which  under  our  present  system  has  already  been 
carried  too  far  for  the  best  interests  of  the  working  classes. 
Child  labor  means  untrained  and  unstable  labor.  Mo- 
notonous work  and  extreme  speciahzation  are  inherently 
contrary  to  the  natural  and  spontaneous  activities  of  the 
child.  Unless  some  superior  coercive  force  —  a  parent's 
insistence,  the  absolute  needs  of  the  child,  or  some  similar 
force  —  compels  him,  he  will  not  remain  in  the  same 
position  for  more  than  a  very  short  period.  The  young 
child  belongs  to  the  floating  class  of  workers,  and  this  is 
especially  true  of  the  boy.  Yet  his  need  of  a  definite  trade 
is  more  urgent  than  that  of  the  young  girl,  whose  entire 
industrial  career,  owing  to  marriage  and  subsequent  retire- 
ment from  industry,  is  limited  to  about  five  years.  The 
untrained  child  can  not  know  his  own  mind,  so  simply 
drifts  along  until  dire  necessity  forces  him  to  begin  to  con- 
centrate his  efforts  on  a  single  industry.  Meanwhile  he 
has  lost  several  years  of  time,  and  his  opportunity  for  an 
education  is  gone.  Therefore  he  soon  reaches  the  limit 
of  his  earning  capacity,  and  does  not  contribute  to  society 
the  values  which  would  be  expected  from  him  if  he  were 


GENERAL  EFFECTS  OF  CHILD  LABOR        195 

trained.  Investigations  in  Massachusetts  and  also  in  sev- 
eral large  cities  indicate  that  the  untrained  child  suffers 
an  enormous  handicap.  Although  for  a  short  time  he  may 
outstrip  his  trained  associate  in  earning  power,  this  ad- 
vantage is  quickly  lost.  The  latter  may  gain  an  indefinite 
increase  of  wages  or  salary,  but  the  former  must  always 
remain  among  the  wage-earning  classes.  The  net  result 
of  the  entrance  of  children  into  industry  is  a  positive  cur- 
tailment of  the  wealth-producing  power  of  the  nation. 

3.  Social  Costs. 

The  social  consequences  of  premature  employment 
can  not  be  measured  in  any  material  form,  but  are  never- 
theless a  serious  menace  to  our  national  welfare.  Child 
labor  hardens  the  successful  child  laborer  to  the  evils  of  the 
system.  Accordingly  the  very  men  who  should  be  strong- 
est in  their  advocacy  of  progressive  laws  are  precisely  the 
men  who  look  backward  and  do  not  struggle  for  the  interests 
of  the  child  of  to-day.  Child  labor,  however,  oppresses 
the  great  majority  of  working  children,  and,  while  an  ad- 
vantage to  the  few,  is  a  great  social  waste.  Society  suffers 
because  the  individuals  subjected  to  child  labor  cannot 
reaHze  the  full  amplitude  of  their  powers.  Not  only  is 
the  loss  occasioned  an  economic  disadvantage,  but  race 
deterioration  is  threatened.  In  addition,  the  child  has 
no  opportunity  to  develop  his  full  mental  powers.  A  loss 
results  to  him  in  the  limitation  of  his  social  opportunities 
and  to  society  in  its  failure  to  receive  the  best  contribution 
of  which  the  child  would  have  been  capable. 

Child  labor  debars  the  individual  from  acquiring  an 
adequate  education,  and  thus  handicaps  him  in  his  effi- 
ciency as  a  citizen.  Many  working  .children  are  illiterate  ; 
others  have  so  little  education  that  almost  no  advantage 
can  result.  The  demands  of  the  state  are  becoming  in- 
creasingly urgent,  and  every  reasonable  effort  should  be 


196  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

made  to  equip  every  boy  and  girl  for  the  duties  of  citizen^ 
ship.  Successful  citizenship  requires  intelligent  appli- 
cation of  the  powers  which  education  develops  in  the 
individual.  Child  labor  is  a  serious  bar  to  this  achieve- 
ment. The  usefulness  of  the  American  citizen  is  achieved 
only  by  time  and  education.  Unfitness  for  the  social  and 
political  life  of  to-day  therefore  follows  in  the  wake  of 
child  labor,  and  the  citizenship  of  our  country  is  thereby 
endangered.  Few  child  workers,  when  grown,  attain  to 
positions  of  prominence  or  become  factors  in  directing  our 
civilization.  Incapacity  relegates  them  to  the  lower 
classes. 

The  curtailment  of  the  earning  power  of  the  individual 
on  account  of  the  handicap  which  child  labor  imposes 
results  in  a  relative  incapacity  to  rise  in  the  scale  of  living. 
Thus  the  problem  of  poverty  is  accentuated,  standards 
of  living  fail  to  rise,  and  the  dependent  classes  increase  in 
numbers.  Without  the  needed  moral,  industrial,  and 
trade  education,  the  young  worker  likewise  is  unable  to 
use  adequate  foresight,  he  can  not  cooperate  so  successfully 
with  others,  and  the  benefits  accruing  from  organized  labor 
can  not  be  fully  realized. 

4.  Moral  Effects. 

The  demoralizing  effects  of  child  labor  depend  largely 
upon  the  baneful  influence  of  night  work  and  that  of  the 
street  trades.  The  direct  consequences  of  work  in  the 
stores  and  factories  are  less  patent  unless  such  work  is 
carried  on  for  an  unreasonable  number  of  hours.  The 
morals  imparted  by  the  street  trades  should  emphatically 
condemn  the  use  of  children  as  street  venders ;  yet  these 
trades  have  been  the  most  successful  ones  in  their  resistance 
of  preventive  legislation.  The  small  boy  selling  papers 
on  the  streets  easily  degenerates  into  the  beggar,  especially 
if  he  plies  his  trade  at  night  when  his  artifices  meet  with 


GENERAL  EFFECTS  OF  CHILD  LABOR        197 

a  greater  degree  of  success.  Both  practice  in  begging  and 
in  methods  of  deceit  tend  to  demoralize  him  and  prepare 
him  for  the  juvenile  court.  Investigation  has  shown  that 
a  vast  majority  of  the  newsboys  are  not  compelled  to  enter 
industry  to  maintain  a  Hvehhood,  but  do  so  because  of  the 
attractions  and  adventures  of  the  business.'  Demorahza- 
tion,  therefore,  is  easy  and  rapid.  Both  the  newsboy  and 
the  messenger  boy  are  particularly  exposed  to  the  seduc- 
tions of  vice.  The  associations  of  the  bad  men  of  the 
street  are  pernicious  and  induce  immoral  habits  and  even 
sexual  vice,  but  the  influences  of  the  saloon  and  the  houses 
of  prostitution  are  doubly  vicious  in  their  power  to  deprave 
the  child.  In  many  cities  the  newsboy  does  not  hesitate 
to  enter  saloons  in  the  pursuit  of  his  trade,  and  frequently 
he  visits  the  haunts  of  vice  and  himself  becomes  infected 
with  serious  disease.  In  a  large  parental  school,  it  was 
recently  ascertained  that  of  the  newsboys  who  were  in- 
mates, one  third  were  suffering  from  disease  caused  by 
immorality.  Also  that  the  newsboy  was  considerably 
below  the  normal  standards  of  stature  and  weight.  In 
another  large  institution  for  delinquent  children,  the 
newsboys  form  40  per  cent  of  all  the  boys  who  had  pre- 
viously been  gainfully  employed.  The  boys  make  the 
acquaintance  of  bad  women,  they  become  steeled  to  de- 
grading sights,  and  are  often  thoroughly  trained  for  a 
career  of  vice. 

Employees  in  the  messenger  service  are  specially  subject 
to  the  pernicious  influences  of  the  immoral  districts  of  the 
city.  They  are  often  compelled  to  deliver  messages  at  un- 
reasonable hours  and  in  localities  which  are  clearly  de- 
moralizing, and  they  therefore  form  close  associations  with 
vice.  There  is  a  large  percentage  of  juvenile  delinquency 
among  the  members  of  the  messenger  service,  and  in  at 
least  one  prominent  reformatory  for  boys  the  representa- 
tives of  this  trade  outnumber  those  of  any  other  occupa- 


198  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

tion.  The  girl  employed  in  this  service  suffers  from  the 
greatest  moral  temptations,  but  the  recognition  of  this  fact 
has  prompted  several  states  to  prohibit  such  employment 
of  girls  unless  they  are  at  least  eighteen  years  of  age.  In 
some  states  similar  attempts  to  save  the  boys  have  been 
made  by  prohibiting  them  from  entering  any  questionable 
resort  to  which  they  may  be  compelled  to  carry  messages. 
The  latter  provision,  however,  has  little  deterring  power. 
The  street  trades  also  lend  themselves  to  the  oppor- 
tunity for  gaming,  and  a  number  of  games  which  develop 
the  gambling  habit  are  very  popular.  The  newsboy  enjoys 
a  large  amount  of  leisure,  and  therefore  is  an  active  par- 
ticipant in  these  questionable  games.  Shooting  craps, 
throwing  dice,  and  even  policy  playing,  are  some  of  the 
games  which  develop  the  gambling  instinct  in  the  boys 
of  the  street.  The  pennies  which  fall  into  their  hands 
through  the  work  of  the  day  are  often  lost  again  by  their 
unsuccessful  contest  in  the  petty  gambling  in  which  they 
engage.  This  loss,  however,  is  less  serious  than  the  per- 
manent injury  to  their  character  and  the  inculcation  of 
the  baser  instincts. 

Some  of  the  street  trades  are  an  efficient  cause  of  truancy, 
and  wherever  truancy  laws  are  not  properly  enforced  the 
street  trades  become  a  refuge  for  the  wayward  boy.  Tru- 
ancy and  these  trades  are  complementary  activities.  The 
truant  deceives  by  entering  one  of  these  occupations, 
oping  thus  to  escape  the  compulsion  of  the  schoolroom, 
and  the  devotee  of  the  street  becomes  irregular  in  school 
attendance  or  habitually  practices  truancy.  Such  irregu- 
larity unfits  the  boy  for  concentrated  efforts  in  any  legiti- 
mate fine.  The  reputed  demands  of  his  trade  enable  the 
newsboy  to  assume  a  certain  unwholesome  air  of  inde- 
pendence, which,  if  persisted  in,  leads  to  morally  injurious 
consequences.  This  tends  to  lessen  the  control  of  parents 
over  their  children,  but  a  relaxation  of  such  control  makes 


GENERAL  EFFECTS  OF  CHILD  LABOR        199 

the  recovery  of  parental  authority  well-nigh  impossible. 
Consequently  we  witness  a  growing  number  of  incorrigible 
and  disorderly  children.  These  forms  of  child  labor  are 
not  entirely  responsible  for  this  growing  evil,  but  are  a  large 
factor  in  its  development.  The  street  trades  leave  the 
child  with  little  or  no  direct  supervision  by  his  employers, 
yet  no  working  child  can  develop  morally  and  spiritually 
in  a  satisfactory  manner  unless  he  is  subjected  to  right 
discipline.  The  newsboy,  however,  frequently  operates 
under  the  immediate  control  of  overseers,  whose  influence 
can  hardly  be  uplifting.  If  the  parent  loses  control,  the 
boy  in  the  street  trades  practically  escapes  moral  discipline. 
In  this  respect  the  boy  or  girl  in  factory  or  workshop  has 
an  immense  advantage  because  the  restraints  imposed  by 
employers  are  rigid  and  certainly  tend  to  induce  regularity, 
industry,  and  obedience. 

Night  work  in  factories  has  several  important  moral 
consequences.  The  discipline  of  the  factory  or  of  the 
store  tends  to  greater  leniency  at  night  and  therefore  the 
children  will  be  more  given  to  excesses.  A  factory  in- 
spector in  a  prominent  state  claims  that  the  behavior  of 
children  in  factories  at  night  is  noticeably  worse  than 
during  the  day.  The  long  hours  of  the  child  make  him 
restless,  and  the  different  conditions  at  night  urge  him 
to  throw  off  restraints,  and  hence  demoralizing  tendencies 
follow.  Night  work  in  the  glasshouses  undoubtedly  has 
an  injurious  effect  upon  the  boys.  Contact  with  adult 
workers  tends  to  become  demoralizing,  but  the  tendency  is 
more  marked  at  night.  Smoking  and  drinking  habits  are 
formed  by  the  boys,  and  profanity  is  acquired.  The  child 
on  the  street  at  midnight,  whether  a  newsboy  or  a  factory 
employee  on  his  way  to  or  from  work,  can  hardly  escape 
moral  degradation.  The  moral  danger  of  night  work 
to  girls  consists  chiefly  in  the  pernicious  contacts  with  the 
baser  elements  of  the  street.     The  sensibilities  are  easily 


200  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

blunted  by  the  environment  which  the  street  creates  for 
the  working  girl.  A  pretty  as  well  as  useful  custom  among 
many  Italians  requires  that  the  Italian  girls,  if  compelled 
to  remain  at  work  after  nightfall,  shall  not  be  allowed  to 
pass  through  the  streets  without  a  companion  or  chaperone. 
In  practice  this  custom  enables  them  to  evade  the  teasing 
and  bantering  to  which  the  lone  girl  or  group  of  girls  are 
subjected  when  on  the  streets  at  night.  These  insults 
to  girls  are  common,  even  to  those  who  are  quietly  return- 
ing to  their  homes.  In  the  early  morning  the  young  girl 
must  run  the  gauntlet  of  curious  eyes  and  provoking 
familiarities.  Girls  need  to  be  saved  from  this  danger  of 
the  street,  but  the  continuation  of  overtime  or  the  use  of 
night  work  renders  this  quite  impossible.  Although  not 
necessarily  a  cause  of  juvenile  delinquency,  it  does  weaken 
the  moral  strength  of  the  individuaL 

In  extenuation  of  the  moral  effects  of  child  labor  it  can 
justly  be  urged  that  in  some  cases  at  least  the  child  has 
been  taken  from  a  bad  street  environment  and  placed 
under  discipline  in  the  factory.  Child  labor  is  a  school, 
however,  to  this  extent  only  —  it  may  occasionally  put  a 
child  where  degrading  influences  are  less  aggressive. 
Even  this  slight  extenuation  can  not  in  any  sense  apply 
to  the  street  trades.  Society  should  not  allow  either  the 
opportunity  for  mischievous  associations,  or  the  child 
labor  which  sometimes  becomes  the  substitute.  More  edu- 
cation, more  parks  and  playgrounds,  and  better  homes, 
not  more  child  labor,  are  the  remedies  for  the  bad  influences 
of  the  street. 


CHAPTER   V 

child  labor  legislation 

1.  Evolution  of  Legislation. 

A  perfect  child  labor  law  is  only  a  theoretical  possibility. 
In  a  djmamic  society  no  absolute  adjustment  to  conditions 
can  be  made.  A  law  must  therefore  be  suitably  revised 
from  time  to  time  to  meet  the  new  conditions  that  arise. 
The  recent  industrial  history  of  England  and  of  the  United 
States  illustrates  this' fact,  for  the  laws  of  to-day  are  so  radi- 
cal that  they  could  not  even  have  been  considered  fifty 
years  ago.  Yet  few,  if  any,  American  child  labor  laws 
are  really  socially  adequate  at  the  present  time.  The 
increasing  complexity  of  our  social  relations,  the  changing 
requisites  for  social  and  industrial  survival,  and  the  ethical 
necessity  of  an  adaptation  to  the  needs  of  the  present  de- 
mand a  rapid  evolution  in  appropriate  legislation.  Exist- 
ing laws  will  probably  be  considered  quite  inadquate 
within  a  shorter  time  than  has  elapsed  since  serious  at- 
tempts to  enact  child  labor  laws  at  all  were  first  made. 

2.  Agencies  Supporting  Legislation. 

The  majority  of  the  recent  child  labor  laws  of  the  dif- 
ferent states  have  been  enacted  since  1895.  Before  that 
time  the  principal  legislation  against  the  employment  of 
children  related  to  certain  dangerous  and  immoral  occupa- 
tions. In  point  of  time  we  have  lagged  far  behind  Great 
Britain,  but  our  progress  has  been  more  rapid,  and  some  of 
our  states  now  have  excellent  laws.     The  rapid  develop- 

201 


202  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

ment  of  industry  has  accentuated  the  problem,  conse- 
quently private  organizations  have  advocated  a  program 
of  good  legislation  and  with  favorable  results.  The  most 
capable  societies  of  this  kind  have  been  the  child  labor 
committees.  The  National  Child  Labor  Committee  was 
organized  in  1904  and  has  carried  its  propaganda  into 
every  state  in  which  the  problem  has  assumed  a  menacing 
aspect.  Its  work  consists  of  investigating  the  conditions 
of  child  labor,  of  educating  the  pubUc  through  pamphlets, 
public  addresses,  etc.,  and  of  trying  to  secure  child  labor 
legislation,  especially  in  the  states  most  in  need  of  better 
laws.  In  many  of  the  states  local  child  labor  committees 
assist  the  national  organization  in  its  untiring  fight  for 
better  legislation.  Much  of  the  recent  progress  is  due  to 
the  efforts  of  these  private  societies. 

Good  legislation  has  been  fostered  by  other  agencies, 
notably  labor  unions,  women's  trade  union  leagues,  con- 
sumers^ leagues,  women's  clubs  of  various  kinds,  mis- 
cellaneous associations,  and  state  labor  bureaus.  The 
consumers'  leagues  of  the  United  States  through  their 
method  of  organizing  consumers  and  of  insisting  on  the 
manufacture  and  sale  of  products  under  good  labor  condi- 
tions can  be  made  a  powerful  factor  in  raising  the  standards 
of  public  opinion.  State  labor  bureaus  have  in  a  number 
of  instances  drafted  bills  for  presentation  to  the  state 
legislatures,  and  have  had  considerable  success  in  securing 
their  passage.  Unfortunately  they  have  not  always  stood 
for  the  best  and  most  modem  legislation,  and  therefore  the 
results  of  their  efforts  have  not  been  sufficiently  favorable. 
Even  the  manufacturers  have  in  several  cases  passed 
resolutions  favoring  some  restrictions  of  child  labor,  and 
have  thus  imposed  higher  standards  upon  themselves, 
The  creation  of  sentiment  and  the  enactment  of  satisfac- 
tory child  labor  laws  depend  largely  upon  the  work  of  or- 
ganizations specially  interested  in  children. 


CHILD  LABOR  LEGISLATION  203 


3.  Uniformity  of  Laws. 

A  serious  handicap  to  adequate  legislation  in  the  United 
States  is  the  right  of  each  state  to  enact  its  own  child  labor 
laws.  A  great  variety  of  laws  has  been  the  natural  con- 
sequence. This  enables  the  employers  affected  by  pro- 
posed legislation  to  threaten  to  abandon  the  states  in  which 
their  establishments  are  located  and  to  continue  business 
elsewhere.  State  selfishness  and  the  desire  to  build  up 
local  interests  are  forces  of  such  magnitude  that  the  state 
hesitates  to  enact  legislation  which  may  drive  capital  from 
within  its  borders.  With  free  trade  among  our  states, 
uniform  laws  are  necessary  to  render  industry  stable. 
So  far  each  state  has  acted  independently,  hence  child 
labor  laws  have  not  been  highly  effective. 

The  federal  government  has  been  negligent  in  its  legis- 
lation against  child  labor.  It  has  supreme  control  of  the 
territories  and  the  District  of  Columbia,  and  has  recently 
enacted  an  inferior  child  labor  law  for  the  latter.  The 
government  should  have  passed  a  model  law  which  the 
states  could  advantageously  copy.  The  prohibition  of 
child  labor  in  the  states  by  the  federal  government  may 
be  unconstitutional,  at  least  all  efforts  to  accompHsh  such 
legislation  have  failed.  A  bill  introduced  in  the  Fifty-ninth 
Congress  provided  that  interstate  commerce  in  products 
in  the  manufacture  of  which  children  under  fourteen  years 
of  age  participated  should  be  illegal.  Had  this  measure 
passed  and  been  sustained  by  our  courts  as  constitutional, 
it  would  at  once  have  secured  a  large  degree  of  uniformity 
of  child  labor  conditions  throughout  the  United  States, 
and  the  baclcward  states  would  have  been  compelled  to 
raise  their  age  limits  for  the  employment  of  children. 
Other  methods  for  securing  uniformity  are  interstate 
child  labor  conferences.  Such  conferences,  however,  can 
only  recommend,  and  the  different  states  may  utterly 


204  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

ignore  the  sentiments  of  such  a  congress.  The  reform 
forces  are  seldom  united,  while  the  opponents  of  good 
legislation  usually  act  in  perfect  unison  with  each  other. 
The  education  of  the  people  to  a  realization  of  what  con- 
stitutes proper  standards  is  necessary  to  establish  uniform 
legislation.  The  pressure  of  opinion  can  then  be  exerted  in 
the  states  requiring  better  laws,  and  eventually  a  fair 
degree  of  uniformity  can  be  obtained. 

4.  A  Model  Law. 

A  model  child  labor  law  for  all  time  can  not  be  proposed. 
Although  laws  should  be  subject  to  revision  when  occasion 
demands,  several  important  requisites  are  fundamental 
to  an  acceptable  law.  Among  these  are :  first,  the  law 
must  be  clear  and  distinct  in  its  meaning,  so  as  to  permit  of 
but  one  interpretation.  Confusion  in  this  respect  is  often 
a  ground  for  its  non-enforcement.  Second,  enforceability 
is  basic.  Unless  the  law  can  be  applied  in  an  expedient 
manner  and  properly  enforced,  its  very  presence  on  the 
statute  books  may  prove  harmful.  Third,  the  law  must 
conform  to  the  requirements  of  the  social  interests  which 
are  involved.  A  new  plane  of  ideals  will  have  been  estab- 
lished, and  the  ethical  progress  evidenced  in  the  law  can 
then  be  generalized.  The  critical  sections  of  a  child  labor 
law  relate  to  the  questions  of  :  number  of  hours  of  work  per 
day  and  week,  the  age  limits,  night  work,  methods  of 
securing  certificates,  previous  education  required,  and  the 
provisions  for  enforcement.  A  child  labor  law  should  be 
comprehensive  and  cover  employment  in  all  factories, 
workshops,  mercantile  establishments,  laundries,  hotels, 
restaurants,  and  the  telegraph  and  messenger  service,  as 
well  as  in  the  sale  of  newspapers.  Agricultural  labor  may 
be  omitted  in  so  far  as  such  labor  does  not  interfere  with 
appropriate  compulsory  education  laws. 

The   laws  most  nearly   approximating   a   model   child 


CHILD  LABOR  LEGISLATION  205 

labor  law  are  found  in  New  York  and  Illinois.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  most  unsatisfactory  laws  are  those  of 
North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  and  Alabama.  In  the 
North,  Pennsylvania  still  fails  to  meet  reasonable  require- 
ments. 

5.  Hours  of  Labor. 

In  several  states,  notably  New  York  and  Illinois,  the 
hours  of  work  in  factories  are  limited  to  eight  per  day  or 
forty-eight  per  week.  In  New  York  the  work  must  fall 
between  the  hours  of  8  a.m.  and  5  p.m.,  and  the  law  there- 
fore enjoys  the  advantage  of  effective  enforceability.  In 
Illinois  the  eight  hours  of  work  inay  occur  any  time  between 
7  A.M.  and  7  p.m.  When  such  leeway  is  allowed,  enforce- 
ment of  law  becomes  difficult,  and  all  employers  should 
be  required  to  post  the  exact  hours  when  children  are 
expected  to  work,  and  also  to  furnish  the  bureau  of  factory 
inspection  with  similar  information.  Then  if  any  child 
is  found  at  work  at  some  time  other  than  that  indicated 
in  the  schedule,  a  violation  of  law  is  to  be  presumed.  In 
several  Western  states,  child  labor  in  the  mines  is  limited 
to  eight  hours  per  day,  but  in  Colorado  the  law  applies 
to  factories  and  stores  as  well. 

Only  a  few  states  have  established  a  nine-hour  day  for 
children,  and  the  majority  of  laws  allow  ten  hours  as  a 
standard  day.  This  does  not  in  all  cases  imply  a  sixty- 
hour  week,  for  several  New  England  states  allow  only 
fifty-eight,  while  New  Jersey  permits  but  fifty-five.  The 
state  of  North  Carolina  allows  children  to  work  twelve 
hours  per  day  and  sixty-six  per  week,  and  stands  at  the 
foot  of  the  series  of  states  having  regulations  on  this  sub- 
ject. Pennsylvania  also  allows  a  twelve-hour  day,  but 
its  weekly  limit  of  sixty  hours  either  results  in  uniform 
days  of  shorter  length  or  in  an  alternation  of  long  and 
short  days.     In  a  number  of  states  a  distinction  is  made 


206  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

between  manufacturing  and  mercantile  establishments, 
longer  or  unlimited  hours  being  allowed  in  the  latter.  No 
working  child  should  be  allowed  to  labor  more  than  eight 
hours  per  day,  nor  more  than  forty-eight  hours  per  week, 
and  both  limitations  should  be  specified  in  order  that  Sun- 
day labor  may  be  aboHshed.  Some  industries  operate 
seven  days  per  week,  but  society  should  permit  no  child  to 
be  overworked  in  this  manner. 

6.  Night  Work. 

Night  work  can  hardly  be  prevented  unless  a  closing 
hour  is  set.  In  factories  and  mercantile  establishments 
no  children  should  be  allowed  to  work  later  than  7  p.m. 
In  the  industries  exempted  from  child  labor  laws  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  night  work  prevails.  In  Alabama 
night  work  of  children  between  thirteen  and  sixteen  years 
of  age  is  permitted  by  law,  but  restricted  to  forty-eight 
hours  per  week.  Several  states  allow  night  work  for  chil- 
dren over  fourteen.  At  present  night  work  is  specifically 
prohibited  in  twenty-three  states,  but  the  age  limit  varies, 
although  in  the  majority  of  cases  it  is  sixteen.  The  legal 
efforts  to  abolish  night  work  of  children  in  the  glasshouses 
of  Pennsylvania  have  failed.  Six  states  prohibit  night 
work  in  factories  before  7  a.m.  or  after  7  p.m.  for  children 
under  sixteen,  and  in  several  cases  the  law  applies  to  all 
gainful  occupations,  except  agriculture  and  the  street 
trades.  Five  additional  ones  have  similar  regulations  for 
children  under  fourteen.  In  nearly  all  of  the  remaining 
states  where  closing  hours  are  limited  by  laws,  an  un- 
necessarily late  hour  is  allowed,  some  states  setting  the 
limit  at  ten  o'clock.  Night  work  in  the  messenger  service 
and  the  newsboys'  trade  is  almost  unrestricted,  but  should 
be  limited  to  8  p.m  for  all  children  under  sixteen  years  of 
age.  Under  present  conditions  actual  night  work  is  most 
common  in  the  street  trades  and  the  seasonal  industries. 


CHILD  LABOR  LEGISLATION  207 


7.  Age  Limits. 

The  history  of  child  labor  legislation  shows  that  the  age 
limits  of  the  working  child  have  gradually  been  raised. 
When  England  first  agitated  the  problem,  little  children 
not  more  than  five  years  of  age  were  found  in  her  factories. 
In  certain  canning  factories  in  New  York  and  in  parts  of 
the  South  children  not  more  than  six  or  seven  years  of  age 
have  until  recently  been  used  in  industry,  although  not 
appearing  on  the  pay-rolls.  The  minimum  age  limit  for 
working  children  must  vary  from  time  to  time  and  must 
depend  upon  existing  social  and  industrial  conditions. 
Most  American  child  labor  laws  have  adopted  the  four- 
teenth year  as  a  proper  age  limit,  and  this  should  be  the 
minimum  requirement  for  a  model  law.  In  a  number  of 
Southern  states  a  minimum  age  limit  of  twelve  years  is 
allowed.  The  practice  in  some  states  of  allowing  children 
of  twelve  to  enter  certain  occupations  during  the  summer 
vacation  is  probably  justifiable.  Poverty  exemptions 
such  as  those  allowed  in  South  Carolina,  Arkansas,  Mis- 
souri, and  Alabama,  where  children  under  twelve  years  of 
age  may  be  employed  in  case  of  dependent  parents  are  an 
infringement  upon  the  rights  of  children.  Under  certain 
conditions  newsboys  twelve  years  of  age  or  over  should 
be  allowed  to  sell  papers,  but  such  employment  must  not 
interfere  with  the  educational  requirements  of  the  law.  In 
the  near  future  the  minimum  working  age  should  be  raised 
to  fifteen  years.  At  present  no  children  between  the  ages 
of  fourteen  and  sixteen  should  be  allowed  to  enter  manu- 
facturing or  mercantile  establishments  without  having 
first  secured  a  working  certificate.  There  is  a  growing  ten- 
dency to  prohibit  children  under  sixteen  from  entering 
dangerous  occupations,  including  mining,  and  to  exclude 
the  ilHterate  child  from  gainful  emplojmient. 


208  CHILD  PROBLEMS 


8.    Working  Papers. 

The  purpose  of  requiring  all  children  between  fourteen 
and  sixteen  years  of  age  to  obtain  working  papers  is  to 
guard  against  the  admission  of  applicants  who  are  not 
socially  justified  in  beginning  a  career  as  wage-earners. 
Without  certain  prerequisites  no  child  should  be  granted 
a  permit  to  work.  Such  a  permit  should  contain  satis- 
factory evidence  in  regard  to  the  age,  education,  and  phys- 
ical qualifications  of  the  child.  Proof  of  age  should  depend 
largely  upon  certificates  of  birth  and  baptism,  supplemented 
by  the  records  of  the  school  which  the  applicant  has  at- 
tended. The  statement  of  the  parent  is  not  sufficient  in 
itself,  as  perjury  is  not  uncommon  in  the  localities  where 
only  the  aflidavit  of  parents  is  necessary  to  obtain  certifi- 
cates. In  such  places  a  sort  of  traffic  in  working  papers 
is  carried  on.  Often  the  same  paper  descends  from  one 
member  of  the  family  to  another.  Children  frequently 
lie  about  their  ages,  having  been  carefully  coached  either 
by  their  parents  or  by  their  employers.  No  matter  how 
small  the  boy  or  how  tiny  the  girl,  on  inquiry  the  inter- 
rogator learns  that  the  child  is  fourteen  years  of  age  !  In 
thirteen  states  the  affidavit  of  the  parent  is  accepted  as 
sufficient  evidence  of  the  age  of  the  child.  North  Carofina 
merely  provides  that  the  parent  shall  furnish  the  estabhsh- 
ment  with  a  written  statement  of  the  age  of  the  child  and  a 
certificate  of  school  attendance,  four  months  of  schooling 
in  the  previous  twelve  months  being  also  required. 

Apart  from  the  affidavit  system,  several  methods  of 
granting  working  papers  are  in  operation  in  the  different 
states.  The  certificates  may  be  granted  by  the  school 
authorities,  by  factory  inspectors,  by  boards  of  health, 
or  by  judges  of  county,  municipal,  or  juvenile  courts. 
Fourteen  of  the  eighteen  states  which  require  written 
proof  of  the  age  of  the  child  place  the  duty  of  granting 


CHILD  LABOR  LEGISLATION  209 

certificates  in  the  hands  of  the  school  authorities.  The 
very  efficient  laws  of  Illinois  and  Massachusetts  make 
this  provision.  School  records  are  usually  faithful  and  re- 
liable sources  of  information,  although  the  direct  record  of 
the  birth  of  the  child,  if  that  can  be  procured,  is  a  still  safer 
proof  of  age.  In  New  York  the  papers  must  be  signed  by 
an  official  of  the  board  of  health,  who  shall  not  approve 
them  imless  a  properly  signed  school  record  of  the  child 
has  been  filed,  as  well  as  a  record  of  his  birth  or  baptism. 
In  default  of  the  latter  the  affidavit  of  the  parent  is  re- 
quired. This  complex  system  makes  the  issuing  of  papers 
to  under-aged  children  almost  impossible.  In  several 
states,  including  Wisconsin  and  Missouri,  the  factory 
inspectors  issue  the  certificates,  and  in  these  two  states 
very  successful  work  has  been  accomplished.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  poHcy  of  allowing  judges  or  magistrates 
to  grant  certificates  has  met  with  considerable  objection. 
The  examination  of  the  documentary  evidence  is  usually 
less  thorough  if  papers  are  procured  in  this  way. 

As  the  physical  effects  of  premature  child  labor  furnish 
one  of  the  fundamental  bases  of  child  labor  laws,  no  child 
should  be  given  a  working  certificate  unless  his  health  and 
physical  requirements  are  satisfactory.  Unless  he  has  the 
normal  weight  and  stature  of  persons  between  fourteen 
and  sixteen  years  of  age,  papers  should  be  refused.  The 
health  department  should  be  authorized  to  decide  upon 
the  physical  fitness  of  all  appHcants  for  working  papers. 
New  York  and  Ohio  follow  this  plan.  In  some  cases  this 
work  can  be  done  by  the  physicians  of  the  board  of  educa- 
tion. In  some  states  the  child  only  requires  a  medical 
certificate.     In  others  no  physical  tests  are  made. 

9.   Educational  Requikements. 

A  compulsory  education  law  is  the  best  preventive  of 
premature  child  labor,  but  the  great  majority  of  states 


210  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

have  not  correlated  their  compulsory  education  and  child 
labor  laws.  There  are  two  types  of  educational  require- 
ments affecting  the  working  child  :  first,  direct  compulsory 
education  within  certain  age  limits.  This  requirement 
merely  emphasizes  the  time  spent  in  school,  and  after  a 
child  has  passed  the  upper  age  limit,  he  may  enter  indus- 
try without  further  educational  examination.  Unfor- 
tunately a  large  number  of  states  do  not  require  a  sufficient 
annual  attendance  to  insure  the  child  of  working  age  a 
reasonable  education.  In  order  that  dependent  children 
may  have  a  chance  to  support  themselves  some  states 
excuse  them  from  school  attendance. 

A  second  type  of  educational  requirement  is  a  provision 
of  law  requiring  all  children  before  they  enter  industry 
to  have  acquired  a  certain  amount  of  education.  The 
state  of  Washington  requires  the  child  to  have  completed 
the  eight  years'  course  of  the  elementary  school,  but  lacks 
the  machinery  of  enforcement.  Other  states  require  the 
completion  of  a  specified  course  in  which  is  included  a 
knowledge  of  grammar,  geography,  and  a  certain  advance 
in  the  elements  of  arithmetic.  New  York  exemplifies 
this  type  of  legislation.  It  practically  provides  that  the 
child  shall  have  completed  the  fifth  grade  of  the  school 
curriculum.  Another  group  of  states  simply  provides  that 
the  child  shall  have  attended  school  for  a  specified  time 
before  he  may  receive  working  papers,  and  a  few  require 
the  child  to  attend  school  during  the  period  of  employment. 
In  some  cities  children  are  expected  to  attend  the  night 
schools,  but  exemptions  from  this  requirement  are  allowed 
in  some  instances. 

A  knowledge  of  the  English  language  is  absolutely  es- 
sential to  every  child.  The  educational  requirement  of 
working  children  should  be  not  less  than  the  completion 
of  the  standard  sixth  grade  work.  As  our  educational 
system  becomes  more  rational,  and  a  more  satisfactory 


CHILD  LABOR  LEGISLATION  211 

adaptation  to  present  conditions  is  secured,  an  eighth  grade 
training  should  be  required  of  all  children. 

10.  Dangerous  Trades. 

A  number  of  industries  are  relatively  more  dangerous 
than  others,  and  from  these  in  some  states  children  are 
excluded  by  law.  No  child  under  sixteen  years  of  age 
should  be  allowed  to  enter  any  occupation  which  is  dan- 
gerous to  the  life,  limb,  health,  or  morals  of  such  child. 
The  moral  and  physiological  plasticity  of  the  child  is  a 
source  of  danger  when  exposure  to  bad  conditions  takes 
place,  and  certain  trades  should  therefore  be  specifically 
forbidden  to  all  persons  below  the  age  indicated.  Among 
such  trades  are  the  following  groups :  first,  occupations 
in  which  dangerous  machinery  is  used,  for  the  young  boy 
or  girl  is  much  more  liable  to  serious  accident  on  account  of 
the  absence  of  caution  and  judgment.  Second,  occupations 
which  require  the  use  of  poisonous  acids,  paints,  colors, 
or  injurious  chemicals,  such  as  white  lead,  phosphorus, 
and  others.  Third,  occupations  which  place  the  safety 
and  security  of  others  in  the  hands  of  the  worker,  for  ex- 
ample, the  operation  of  passenger  elevators,  and  equally 
important  occupations  connected  with  the  mining  industry. 
Fourth,  occupations  which  are  likely  to  affect  the  morals 
of  the  child.  The  liquor  trade,  occupations  that  occasion 
contact  with  houses  of  ill  fame,  and  the  manufacture  of 
goods  produced  for  immoral  purposes,  are  included  in  this 
category.  Fifth,  occupations  which  are  considered  un- 
healthful.  The  ordinary  blanket  laws,  which  refer  to  all 
unhealthful  occupations  without  specifying  the  particular 
occupation  or  industry,  have  no  value  whatsoever,  and  are 
not  enforced.  The  physical  welfare  of  children  demands 
effective  laws  on  this  subject.  Our  legislation  should 
therefore  be  patterned  after  the  English  law,  which  places 
power  in  the  hands  of  the  proper  officials  to  determine 


212  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

whether  an  occupation  is  dangerous  or  not.  Furthermore, 
each  state  should  provide  one  or  more  medical  inspectors 
whose  sole  duty  should  be  to  ascertain  whether  certain 
industries  are  not  inimical  to  the  employment  of  children 
under  sixteen  years  of  age.  Such  industries  should  be 
added  to  the  Hst  from  which  children  are  excluded. 

11.  Industries  Exempted. 

Usually  child  labor  laws  have  not  been  applied  to  certain 
industries,  of  which,  owing  to  its  peculiar  conditions,  agri- 
culture is  the  most  conspicuous  example.  The  reasons 
for  its  exemption  are  so  valid  that  they  need  no  further 
discussion.  A  most  serious  factor  in  industry  is  the  prob- 
lem of  perishable  goods.  These  include  various  fruits 
and  vegetables  in  preparation  for  preserving  and  canning, 
certain  kinds  of  confectionery,  fresh  oysters,  and  other 
products  of  minor  importance.  The  canning  and  preserv- 
ing industry,  however,  is  the  chief  manufacturing  indus- 
try which  in  many  states  is  granted  exemption  from  the 
provisions  of  the  law.  This  is  partly  on  account  of  the 
agricultural  connections,  but  largely  because  of  the  perish- 
able nature  of  the  products.  The  New  York  child  labor 
law  has,  through  the  decision  of  the  attorney-general  of 
the  state,  been  so  modified  as  practically  to  exclude  this 
industry  from  its  operation.  It  was  ruled  that  the  law 
did  not  apply  to  the  sheds  where  the  preparatory  work  is 
largely  done  and  where  child  labor  is  chiefly  carried  on. 
The  result  has  been  leniency  in  enforcement  of  law  in  those 
cases  to  which  it  does  apply.  English  experience  shows 
that  insistence  on  the  regulation  of  seasonal  industries 
has  resulted  in  a  most  remarkable  degree  of  conformity 
to  the  limitations  imposed.  Many  of  the  long  hours  and 
much  of  the  night  work  were  found  unnecessary. 

In  the  United  States  the  right  to  work  unlimited  hours 
in  the  canning  and  preserving  industry  has  been  abused, 


CHILD  LABOR  LEGISLATION  213 

and  more  stringent  legislation  is  needed.  Whatever  be 
the  regulations  in  regard  to  adult  labor,  child  labor  should 
at  least  be  carefully  restricted  by  law.  A  large  group 
of  industries  are  seasonal  in  their  nature,  and  the  goods 
produced  are  commercially  perishable  if  not  subject  to  phys- 
ical deterioration.  The  exemption  of  one  industry  tends 
to  open  the  way  for  the  escape  of  others.  Law,  however, 
should  attempt  to  render  industry  more  stable ;  besides, 
the  interests  of  the  child  must  not  be  sacrificed. 

A  large  group  of  the  states  do  not  include  retail  stores 
among  the  industries  in  which  child  labor  is  prohibited. 
In  the  small  towns  this  is  hardly  a  problem,  but  in  the  large 
cities  much  exploitation  of  children  is  possible  if  restrain- 
ing laws  do  not  exist.  Many  stores  are  open  one  or  more 
evenings  per  week,  and  consequently  children  are  forced  to 
work  long  hours  on  certain  days,  especially  on  Saturdays. 
The  states  which  do  not  include  these  establishments  do 
not  all  insist  on  conformity  to  the  laws  throughout  the 
year,  but  several  of  them  allow  overtime  or  late  hours  for 
a  definite  period  shortly  before  Christmas.  Four  states 
make  exemptions  for  the  Christmas  season.  The  number 
of  days  on  which  the  law  is  suspended  varies  from  four  to 
twenty.  This  is  precisely  the  time  of  the  year  when  chil- 
dren in  mercantile  establishments  are  subjected  to  the  most 
exhausting  work  and  are  in  special  need  of  shorter  hours. 
Many  young  girls  collapse  during  this  season,  and  conse- 
quently lose  a  portion  of  their  working  time.  Under  no 
conditions  should  the  child  labor  law  be  suspended  during 
the  holiday  season.  The  health  of  the  child  is  more  im- 
portant than  the  amount  of  holiday  sales ;  furthermore 
early  shopping  should  make  long  hours  during  the  rush 
season  unnecessary. 

With  only  a  few  exceptions  the  street  trades  have  escaped 
legislation.  The  New  York  law  applies  to  newsboys  in 
larger  cities  only,  chief  among  which  are  Buffalo  and  New 


214  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

York  City.  Boys  under  ten  are  excluded,  and  all  newsboys 
between  the  ages  of  ten  and  fourteen  are  required  to  secure 
a  license,  while  girls  under  sixteen  are  entirely  prohibited 
from  selling  papers.  The  state  of  Massachusetts  author- 
izes the  city  officials  to  control  the  employment  of  chil- 
dren in  the  street  trades.  Boston  has  utilized  this  grant 
of  power,  and  has  taken  steps  to  regulate  the  work  of  boot- 
blacks, newsboys,  and  other  street  venders.  In  Wiscon- 
sin a  state  law  has  recently  subjected  the  street  trades  of 
Milwaukee  to  legal  control,  and  in  some  cities  an  attempt 
to  cope  with  the  problem  is  being  made  through  the  pas- 
sage of  municipal  ordinances.  In  St.  Louis,  by  a  police 
order,  girls  under  sixteen  have  been  prohibited  from  selling 
newspapers.  The  messenger  service,  formerly  exempted 
from  regulation,  is  rapidly  being  included  in  child  labor 
laws,  and  twelve  states  now  protect  the  child  from  this 
occupation.  The  age  limit  most  commonly  established  is 
fourteen  years. 

12.   Enforcement  of  Law. 

In  regard  to  the  enforcement  of  child  labor  laws  a  wide 
diversity  of  method  prevails.  The  principal  agencies 
intrusted  with  this  task  are :  departments  of  labor,  bu- 
reaus of  factory  inspection,  the  poHce,  and  boards  of  health. 
In  addition,  truant  and  attendance  officers  sometimes  aid 
in  enforcing  the  law.  In  the  more  populous  manufactur- 
ing states  the  departments  of  labor  are  usually  composed 
of  subdivisions,  of  which  the  bureau  of  factory  inspection 
forms  one  branch.  Sometimes  the  latter  is  made  a  sepa- 
rate department.  In  either  case  the  enforcement  of  law 
rests  with  the  factory  inspection  organization.  New  York 
is  an  example  of  the  former  type,  and  Illinois  of  the  latter. 
Fourteen  states  have  adopted  the  first  plan  and  nine  the 
second.  The  states  in  which  manufacturing  is  a  com- 
paratively unimportant  industry  have  generally  allowed 


CHILD  LABOR  LEGISLATION  215 

the  labor  department  to  enforce  the  law.  In  the  industrial 
states  the  tendency  toward  divison  of  labor  has  operated 
to  create  a  special  department  of  factory  inspection,  but 
New  York  has  returned  to  the  former  system.  In  Massa- 
chusetts the  inspectors  are  under  the  direction  of  the 
District  Pohce.  A  separate  body  of  inspectors  is,  however, 
detailed  by  the  department,  and  these  resemble  in  quali- 
fications the  inspectors  of  the  other  two  systems.  In  each 
of  the  states  mentioned  a  high  degree  of  efficiency  in  the 
enforcement  of  law  has  been  achieved.  Maryland  has  a 
separate  corps  of  child  labor  inspectors,  but  the  plan  has 
not  proven  entirely  successful,  and  Pennsylvania,  with  a 
factory  inspection  department,  has  been  notoriously  negli- 
gent. Until  recently,  child  labor  in  mercantile  establish- 
ments in  New  York  was  controlled  by  the  boards  of  health. 
The  results  were  unsatisfactory,  and  the  work  of  inspection 
has  now  been  transferred  to  the  department  of  labor. 

A  few  states  empower  the  school  officials  to  enforce  the 
law  against  child  labor,  and  in  a  considerable  number  of 
states  truant  officers  are  authorized  to  assist  the  other 
inspectors.  These  officials,  however,  aim  primarily  to 
compel  school  attendance  rather  than  to  prevent  child 
labor.  In  several  Southern  states,  especially  those  in  which 
the  child  labor  problem  is  a  serious  one,  the  provisions 
for  law  enforcement  are  extremely  inadequate.  In  Ala- 
bama the  inspector  may  prosecute  violators  of  the  law 
if  ordered  to  do  so  by  the  governor !  Georgia  and  the 
Carolinas  have  practically  no  law-enforcing  machinery. 
Few,  if  any,  of  the  states  possess  an  adequate  corps  of 
inspectors.  New  York  provides  for  sixty,  while  Illinois 
allows  twenty-five.  Medical  inspectors,  who  are  badly 
needed  to  secure  good  working  conditions,  are  still  a  nov- 
elty, only  two  states  making  any  provision  for  such  offi- 
cials. New  York  has  one  medical  inspector  attached  to 
the  bureau  of  factory  inspection,  while  Massachusetts  has 


216  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

engaged  in  some  such  inspection  through  the  agency  of  its 
school  system. 

Inadequate  inspection  is  a  striking  weakness  of  our 
American  child  labor  laws.  With  insufficient  inspectors 
the  law  has  been  violated  with  impunity.  Both  the  num- 
ber and  the  remuneration  of  our  inspectors  have  been 
inadequate.  Owing  to  lack  of  vigor  and  a  sane  social 
viewpoint  the  prosecutions  of  violators  of  the  child  labor 
laws  have  not  been  sufficient  in  many  states  to  become 
an  effective  deterrent  of  subsequent  violation.  Inspectors 
have  not  been  able  to  make  sufficiently  frequent  visits 
to  establishments  employing  children,  but  in  some  cases 
the  neglect  has  been  intentional.  In  one  state  recently, 
an  establishment  employing  a  large  force  of  children  had 
not  been  inspected  for  an  entire  year,  although  the  firm 
was  suspected  of  violating  the  law. 

Efficient  inspection  depends  in  part  upon  the  good  faith 
and  ideals  of  the  chief  factory  inspector,  and  the  energy 
with  which  violations  of  the  law  are  prosecuted.  Such 
prosecutions  must  become  deterrent  influences.  In  those 
states  in  which  the  cost  to  the  employer  of  a  violation  of 
the  law  has  been  inconsiderable,  efficient  enforcement 
has  been  difficult  or  impossible.  In  some  cases  earnest 
cooperation  between  the  employer  and  the  factory  in- 
spectors for  the  enforcement  of  the  law  has  been  followed 
by  the  refusal  to  prosecute  firms  for  the  illegal  employ- 
ment of  children,  on  the  promise  that  the  violation  would 
not  be  repeated.  This  method  can  be  successful  only  when 
a  real  interest  is  evinced  by  the  employer  of  child  labor. 
Vigilance  on  the  part  of  the  inspectors,  however,  still 
remains  a  necessity,  and  individual  inspectors  can  not  be 
allowed  to  pass  upon  the  wisdom  or  unwisdom  of  a  law, 
or  to  enforce  only  that  part  which  appeals  to  them  as 
rational.  The  refusal  to  require  obedience  to  law  lies  at 
the  base  of  the  failure  in  many  sections  to  diminish  the 


CHILD  LABOR  LEGISLATION  217 

amount  of  illegal  child  labor.  Competent  officials  selected 
through  civil  service  examination  are  badly  needed,  and 
the  lack  of  these  has  been  a  severe  handicap  to  real  prog- 
ress. Such  officials  can  not  be  procured  unless  an  adequate 
salary  is  paid  for  their  services  and  a  professional  career 
is  opened  to  them.  Good  men  can  not  afford  to  accept 
the  poorly  paid  and  uncertain  positions.  Factory  in- 
spectors should  be  paid  a  fixed  salary  from  the  state  treas- 
ury, and  money  should  never  be  allowed  to  pass  from  fac- 
tory owner  to  inspector.  At  best,  graft  and  bribery  can 
only  be  avoided  with  great  difficulty. 

In  formulating  child  labor  laws,  legislators  should  be 
guided  by  the  fundamental  principles  which  are  involved. 
The  social  interests  demand  that  such  a  protection  of  chil- 
dren be  assured  as  to  guarantee  to  an  oncoming  generation 
a  physical,  mental,  and  moral  capacity  equal  to  the  indus- 
trial and  social  progress  which  has  meanwhile  been  made. 


BOOK   IV 

THE  DELINQUENT  CHILD 


CHAPTER  I 
causes  and  nature  of  juvenile  delinquency 

1.  Development  of  the  Juvenile  Delinquent. 

The  attitude  of  society  toward  the  juvenile  dehnquent 
has  undergone  a  fundamental  change  within  a  few  decades. 
Part  of  this  change  is  due  to  revulsion  against  the  treat- 
ment formerly  accorded  to  children,  who  were  not  fully 
responsible  for  the  offenses  which  they  committed.  The 
court  trial  in  Philadelphia  of  a  little  child  of  eight  years 
was  the  beginning  of  the  juvenile  court  movement  in  that 
city.  A  few  years  ago  a  boy  of  eleven  in  the  state  of  Iowa 
was  sentenced  to  imprisonment  for  life  on  the  charge  of 
murder !  Hundreds  of  Httle  children  have  been  thrown 
into  jail  in  company  with  vile  adult  criminals,  and  in  Eng- 
land little  children  were  formerly  sentenced  to  death  for 
offenses  so  petty  that  to-day  they  would  hardly  justify  the 
mildest  forms  of  probationary  treatment. 

We  now  realize  that  the  child  can  not  be  judged  by  the 
same  standards  with  which  we  judge  adults.  Accordingly 
youthful  offenders  receive  a  separate  classification  and 
appropriate  treatment.  Juvenile  delinquency  now  gen- 
erally refers  to  the  violation  of  state  law  or  of  city  ordi- 
nances, by  a  person  who  is  sixteen  years  of  age  or  under. 
The  age  limits  vary  among  the  different  states,  and  in 
Illinois  and  Indiana  the  limit  for  boys  is  seventeen  and 
for  girls  is  eighteen.    Whatever  age  represents,  for  the 

221 


222  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

great  majority  of  offenders,  the  line  separating  full  moral 
responsibility  for  offenses  committed  from  a  mere  partial 
responsibility,  should  constitute  the  age  limit  of  juvenile 
delinquency. 

The  term  '^delinquent"  has  been  slowly  expanding  in 
meaning  so  as  to  include  not  only  deliberate  acts  which 
would  be  punishable  if  committed  by  adults,  but  also  way- 
ward tendencies  of  a  serious  character.  It  is  necessary 
to  reach  the  embryo  delinquent  —  the  prospective  crim- 
inal —  and  in  many  cases  it  is  already  too  late  when  the 
boy  is  brought  into  a  juvenile  court.  Accordingly  we 
find  laws  such  as  the  Colorado  law,  which  includes  under 
"dehnquents,"  persons  sixteen  years  of  age  or  under  who 
are  guilty  of  such  offenses  as  the  following :  violation  of 
any  law  of  the  state  or  any  city  or  village  ordinance ; 
incorrigibility ;  association  with  immoral  persons ;  know- 
ingly visiting  houses  of  ill  repute,  or  gambling  houses  of 
any  description ;  visiting  saloons ;  wandering  aimlessly 
about  the  streets  at  night  or  about  railroad  yards  ;  the  use 
of  vile  and  obscene  language ;  immoral  conduct ;  jump- 
ing on  moving  trains,  etc.  This  law  covers  almost  every 
species  of  conduct  which  is  likely  to  result  in  law  break- 
ing and  criminality,  and  is  therefore  capable  of  exercising 
preventive  control  over  the  child.  Development  in  the 
direction  of  greater  elasticity  in  the  definition  of  delin- 
quency represents  the  logical  expansion  of  preventive 
measures.  Although  in  some  cases  the  legal  meaning  of 
delinquency  is  confined  to  direct  violation  of  law,  the 
more  progressive  states  in  the  revision  of  their  juvenile 
court  laws  or  in  the  enactment  of  new  laws  are  quite  uni- 
versally following  the  pattern  of  law  described  above. 
Effective  work  depends  upon  the  legal  right  to  direct  and 
control  the  prospective  offender. 


CAUSES  OF  JUVENILE  DELINQUENCY        223 


2.  Moral  Classification  of  Children. 

The  juvenile  court  idea  depends  upon  the  recently 
developed  consciousness  that  the  child  is  less  in  need  of  ref- 
ormation than  he  is  of  the  formation  and  fixation  of  char- 
acter. The  teachings  of  recent  psychology  and  ethics 
have  forced  the  acceptance  of  the  theory  that  conscience 
and  character  are  developmental ;  therefore  the  problem 
of  the  child  becomes  one  of  construction,  not  of  repression, 
and  youthful  misdeeds  are  recognized  to  be  largely  the 
result  of  the  environmental  influences  which  continually 
impress  themselves  upon  the  child.  The  development  of 
the  child  divides  itself  into  three  quite  distinct  periods. 
The  first  eight  years  of  life  form  one  period.  Many  chil- 
dren of  this  age,  if  not  immoral,  are  at  least  unsocial,  but 
their  delinquency  is  almost  wholly  due  to  the  neglect  of 
their  moral  education  by  their  parents,  and  they  should 
be  treated  as  neglected  persons.  The  neglected  dehn- 
quent  child  at  this  age  is  hardly  worse  in  his  fundamental 
proclivities  than  the  child  who  is  merely  neglected.  Ac- 
cordingly different  treatment  is  not  necessary.  Full 
cognizance  of  the  underlying  causes  of  the  difficulty  points 
merely  to  the  gross  neglect  or  moral  depravity  of  the 
parents.  The  child  is  not  fully  responsible,  so  there  is  but 
little  difference  between  the  delinquent  and  the  neglected 
child  of  this  age. 

During  the  age  period  —  nine  to  thirteen  years  — 
several  characteristic  traits  of  childhood  appear.  Many 
of  the  instinctive  actions  of  earlier  life  have  vanished,  and 
the  development  of  the  mind  enlarges  the  comparative 
importance  of  reason.  The  child,  however,  has  not  yet 
learned  to  correlate  cause  and  effect.  He  is  still  deficient 
in  prudence  and  foresight  and  to  a  large  degree  unconscious 
of  the  lateral  effects  of  his  acts.  He  is  self-centered,  and 
loath  to  relinquish  the  sources  of  his  enjoyment.    His 


224  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

morals  are  still  in  process  of  development,  and  the  plas- 
ticity of  this  period  makes  him  very  susceptible  to  the 
external  impressions  which  he  receives.  Not  yet  of  a 
sufficiently  reflective  nature,  his  morals  are  largely  the 
result  of  imitation  or  of  teaching,  accepted  because  of  its 
seeming  authority.  The  formation  of  habit  proceeds  at 
a  rapid  pace  during  this  period.  The  moral  habits  are  of 
special  importance  because  they  later  ripen  into  the  moral 
aberrations  with  which  adolescence  is  characterized.  The 
religious  bias  is,  however,  imparted  during  this  period, 
and  the  child  likewise  tends  to  become  more  truthful. 
The  conspicuous  traits  of  this  period  are  developing  con- 
science, growing  reason,  formation  of  habit,  and  advance 
in  foresight. 

The  period  of  life  including  the  years  from  twelve  or 
thirteen  to  seventeen  is  marked  by  the  practical  com- 
pletion of  habit  formation,  and  trains  the  child  for  an  as- 
cending or  descending  career.  This  period  witnesses  the 
culmination  of  fundamental  physiological  and  psycholog- 
ical changes.  The  child  arrives  at  puberty,  and  endures 
many  physical  and  emotional  disturbances.  These  years 
are  therefore  fraught  with  danger  for  boy  and  girl.  It  is 
significant  that  the  religious  impulse  is  strongest  in  this 
period,  and  that  conversions  are  most  numerous.^  Star- 
buck  has  well  shown  the  age  incidence  of  emotionalism 
both  for  boys  and  girls,  and  his  observations  suggest  the 
importance  of  properly  harnessing  this  psychic  energy. 
The  religious  impulse  has  its  counterpart  in  the  wayward 
and  criminal  instincts  of  the  boy,  and  these  come  to  the 
surface  during  the  same  period.  Accordingly  a  large 
number  of  boys  manifest  an  incorrigibility  which,  unless 
properly  directed,  will  lead  to  absolute  criminality.  Rapid 
growth  and  the  failure  of  the  child  to  understand  himself 
also  lead  to  moral  aberrations  which  require  the  most  care- 

»  See  The  Psychology  of  Religion,  Chapters  III,  XVI. 


CAUSES  OF  JUVENILE  DELINQUENCY        225 

ful  treatment.  Sex  differentiation  in  this  period  affects 
not  only  the  direct  mental  equilibrium  of  the  youth,  but  the 
attitude  of  the  two  sexes  toward  each  other.  The  crys- 
tallization of  habit  and  the  permanent  tendencies  which  are 
imparted  thereby  call  emphatic  attention  to  the  problem 
of  the  child  of  this  age  period/ 

3.  Causes  of  Juvenile  Delinquency. 

a.   Home  Conditions. 

A  fruitful  cause  of  juvenile  delinquency  consists  of  the 
changing  social  conditions  which  make  individual  acts, 
harmless  in  themselves,  a  menace  to  society.  The  exu- 
berant spirits  of  the  boy  must  find  expression  in  activity 
and  excitement,  and  suppression  is  not  possible.  The 
numerous  contacts  of  the  city  require  a  limitation  of  in- 
dividual activity.  Thoughtless  acts  which  are  entirely 
justifiable  and  even  desirable  in  the  country  districts  may 
be  a  constant  danger  to  property  in  the  city.  Accordingly 
a  series  of  city  ordinances  have  been  enacted  which  con- 
demn and  prohibit  such  acts.  Playing  ball  is  not  inher- 
ently a  punishable  offense,  but  to  obstruct  the  streets  or 
to  endanger  other  persons  who  are  using  the  street  is 
distinctly  anti-social,  and  is  therefore  prohibited  by  city 
ordinances.  Persons  may  be  injured,  windows  broken, 
and  runaways  caused  by  such  sports  conducted  on  the 
streets.  The  highly  valued  bonfire  belongs  to  the  same 
category.  Few  boys  can  restrain  themselves  at  the  sight 
of  a  fire,  and  an  even  greater  thrill  follows  their  participa- 
tion in  a  bonfire  scene.  The  social  needs  of  to-day  there- 
fore interdict  acts  which  boys  have  for  centuries  been 
allowed  to  do,  and  as  the  boy  nature  has  not  changed, 
many  offenses  are  committed  which  the  self-centered  and 

1  This  classification  is  a  slight  modification  of  that  offered  by  Professor 
C.  R.  Henderson  in  his  book,  Dependents,  Defectives,  Delinquents. 


226  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

thoughtless  boy  does  without  malice  or  deliberation. 
The  Philadelphia  girl  of  eight  who  set  fire  to  a  house  did 
so  to  see  the  fire  and  the  fire  engines,  not  to  commit  arson. 
Home  training,  not  laws,  are  needed  in  such  cases.  A 
change  of  law  does  not  readily  reconstruct  a  child's  nature. 
Parental  incompetency  is  a  prolific  source  of  juvenile 
delinquency,  for  the  home  environment  is  the  most  potent 
factor  contributing  to  the  formation  of  character  and 
habit.  The  force  of  social  heredity,  comprising  the  ideals, 
morals,  religious  impulses,  teaching,  discipline,  order,  per- 
sonal habits,  and  superstitions  of  the  parents,  overpowers 
the  child  by  its  almost  irresistible  momentum. 

A  recent  development  in  the  home,  especially  the  native 
American  home,  is  the  too  liberal  abandonment  of  the  dis- 
cipline and  subordination  of  the  child.  The  brutal  cor- 
poral punishment  of  old  has  given  way  in  many  cases  to 
soft  effeminate  indulgence  by  parents  of  the  idlest  humors 
of  their  children.  Thus  selfish  and  imperious  instincts 
develop  at  the  expense  of  altruism  and  obedience,  and 
parents  are  unable  to  develop  appropriate  moral  and  social 
traits  in  their  children.  The  latter  dominate  and  subdue 
instead  of  being  molded  into  moral  shape  by  their  parents. 
If  children  were  mentally  mature,  they  should  be  permitted 
to  enjoy  complete  self-direction.  But  they  are  not,  and 
unless  subjected  to  the  proper  restrictions  and  discipline, 
they  will  fail  to  reach  the  full  level  of  human  moral  attain- 
ment. Corporal  punishment,  although  undesirable  in  the 
majority  of  cases,  can  not  be  totally  abandoned  either 
in  the  home  or  in  the  school,  except  at  the  cost  of  the  moral 
development  of  a  limited  number  of  children.  The  grow- 
ing protest  against  its  total  abolition  is  not  without  sig- 
nificance. Is  it  not  surprising  that  native-born  children 
of  native-born  parents  should  form  so  large  a  percentage 
of  the  total  delinquency  in  our  large  cities?  We  are  not 
yet  ready  for  exclusive  control  by  moral  suasion. 


CAUSES  OF  JUVENILE  DELINQUENCY        227 

Parental  incompetency  is  also  manifested  by  the  failure 
of  parents  to  recognize  that  the  life  of  to-day  requires 
different  treatment  of  the  child  than  did  the  conditions 
of  their  own  youth.  What  may  have  been  permissible 
then  is  anti-social  now.  The  energy  of  the  child  must 
be  allowed  to  express  itself,  but  this  does  not  authorize 
unbridled  and  ruthless  methods  which  are  a  menace  to  life 
and  property.  The  great  majority  of  children  expend  their 
enthusiasm  in  harmless  ways,  and  yet  reap  all  the  advan- 
tages which  such  excesses  afford.  Parental  incapacity 
to  adapt  the  needs  of  the  child  to  those  of  the  community 
results  in  an  antiquated  attitude  on  the  part  of  the  child, 
the  frequent  outcome  of  which  is  waywardness  and  crimi- 
nality. 

Neglect  is  an  important  cause  of  delinquency.  The  ( 
relation  of  the  character  of  home  government  to  the  amount 
of  juvenile  delinquency  is  remarkable  evidence  to  this 
effect.  The  statistics  of  one  large  city  show  that  less  than 
one  half  of  the  neglected  and  delinquent  children  had 
homes  containing  both  father  and  mother.  In  the  majority 
of  cases  one  of  the  parents  was  dead  or  they  had  separated ; 
step-parents  had  intervened ;  desertions  had  occurred ; 
or  the  parents  were  both  dead.  The  absence  of  natural 
home  conditions  is  therefore  an  unmistakable  cause  of 
the  vicious  tendencies  of  the  child.  The  control  of  the 
father  seems  more  effectual  than  that  of  the  mother.  Fewer 
instances  of  delinquency  are  recorded  for  children  who 
live  with  their  father  only,  than  for  those  who  live  with 
their  mother.^  The  absence  of  either  parent  and  the 
neglect  of  the  child  by  both  parents  produce  the  volume 
of  delinquency.  '^According  to  Drahms,  50  per  cent  of 
the  population  of  our  industrial  schools  are  either  orphans 
or  the  children  of  divorced  parents.  Of  the  4838  juvenile 
male  population  in  French  reformatories  in  1896,  4821, 

1  See  Annual  Report  of  Juvenile  Court,  Kansas  City,  1908. 


228  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

or  89.3  per  cent,  were  illegitimate.  Of  the  1095  girls,  849, 
or  77.53  per  cent,  were  illegitimate."  ^  Perhaps  nothing 
demonstrates  the  importance  of  home  influences  more 
decisively  than  does  the  abnormal  number  of  vicious 
children  coming  from  defective  homes. 

Neglect  of  the  home  is  a  frequent  result  of  the  drinking 
habit  or  of  the  indolence  and  indifference  of  the  father. 
These  attributes  are  easily  transmitted  to  the  child,  whose 
vagrant  instincts  need  only  the  slightest  encouragement. 
Parental  begging  and  stealing  leave  intricate  traces  on  the 
minds  of  children,  and  confirm  them  in  a  life  of  idleness  and 
crime.  The  child  caught  in  an  environment  of  this  sort 
and  accustomed  to  wrong  and  debased  standards  can  with 
difficulty  recover  from  the  coercion  of  social  heredity. 
Bad  example,  owing  to  the  imitative  instincts  and  tend- 
encies of  the  child,  contributes  enormously  to  delinquency. 
Too  often  the  parents  are  entirely  indifferent  to  the  petty 
marauding  expeditions  of  boys  who  steal  junk,  wood,  and 
other  articles,  some  of  which  are  brought  to  the  home 
and  utilized  by  the  parents.  Direct  encouragement  is 
thus  afforded  toward  the  continuation  of  a  life  of  crime. 
That  dishonesty  and  petty  larceny  is  a  result  of  the 
failure  of  parents  to  provide  their  children  with  a  reason- 
able amount  of  spending  money  is  amply  demonstrated. 
Boys  engaged  in  the  street  trades  usually  enjoy  small  sums 
of  money.  This  is  spent  often  in  improper  ways.  The 
difficulty  of  entering  street  life  without  money  tempts 
the  boy  to  steal  and  dispose  of  the  goods.  The  first  step 
taken,  stealing  becomes  a  habit,  and  can  with  difficulty 
be  checked.  Many  boys  who  have  entered  some  gainful 
occupation  are  compelled  to  bring  home  the  entire  wage  and 
are  denied  the  use  of  the  smallest  portion.  Investigations 
have  shown  that  a  large  percentage  of  boys  do  not  report 
to  their  parents  the  increase  in  wages  which  they  receive. 

1  Parsons,  Philip  A.,  Responsibility  for  Crime,  p.  139. 


CAUSES  OF  JUVENILE  DELINQUENCY         229 

The  difference  between  the  original  and  the  later  wage 
represents  the  boy's  spending  money.  Dishonest  habits 
are  thus  ingrained  in  the  moral  fiber  of  the  young  boy; 
yet  such  habits  are  the  natural  result  of  the  parents'  failure 
to  allow  him  any  spending  money  from  his  hard-earned 
wage. 

A  most  serious  form  of  neglect  often  results  from  a  second 
marriage  and  the  introduction  of  a  step-father  or  step- 
mother. It  frequently  follows  that  under  the  new  ar- 
rangement estrangements  occur,  or  cruelty  is  practiced 
and  the  child  becomes  delinquent.  Such  parents,  instead 
of  correcting  the  child,  seem  to  revenge  themselves  upon 
him.  This  is  also  true  of  many  foreign-born  parents. 
Vicious  whippings  of  the  very  young  child  harden  him 
and  prevent  him  from  responding  to  the  chastening  effects 
of  properly  administered  punishment.  Instead  of  obedi- 
ence he  develops  defiance  and  incorrigibility.  What  seem 
to  be  original  criminal  tendencies  of  the  child  are  often 
merely  the  results  of  cruelty.  Such  other  forms  of  cruelty 
as  neglect  to  provide  and  abuse  drive  the  child  into  the 
street  and  into  devious  ways  of  living,  and  are  therefore 
not  without  effect. 

b.  Environment  and  Associations. 

The  environment  of  the  boy  outside  of  the  home  and  the 
character  of  his  associates  leave  their  definite  prints  upon 
his  moral  nature,  and  are  a  large  factor  in  producing  de- 
Hnquents.  The  child  who  must  spend  a  considerable 
portion  of  his  time  upon  the  streets  faces  many  tempta- 
tions. His  parents  have  not  sufficiently  warned  him 
against  the  pitfalls  to  be  encountered,  and  the  child,  because 
of  lack  of  self-restraint,  speedily  succumbs  to  the  influence 
of  his  bad  associations.  Since  the  boy  is  not  sufficiently 
given  to  reflection,  the  bad  environment  surely  impresses 
its  characteristics  upon  him.  One  plotter  or  mischief- 
maker  will  demoralize  an  entire  ''gang."     It  is  here  that 


230  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

the  pickpocket  develops  and  the  petty  thief.  It  is  owing 
to  his  street  associations  that  the  boy's  actions  degenerate 
into  disorderly  conduct,  disturbance  of  the  peace,  and  often 
into  the  ruthless  and  wanton  destruction  of  property. 
The  bad  boy  is  ever  present,  and  degrades  his  less  resolute 
associates.  The  opportunities  for  legitimate  sport  are 
meager ;  hence  a  greater  readiness  to  indulge  in  the  for- 
bidden pleasures.  The  many  fruitless  attempts  of  pro- 
bation officers  to  reform  boys  placed  on  parole  in  their 
natural  surroundings  are  an  eloquent  witness  to  the  in- 
exorable influence  of  a  bad  environment. 

Among  the  specific  causes  of  juvenile  delinquency  is 
the  presence  of  numerous  saloons.  Newsboys,  and  other 
boys  as  well,  frequent  the  saloon  and  form  habits  which 
inevitably  lead  to  delinquency.  Boys  play  policy,  fre- 
quent poolrooms,  and  indulge  in  pernicious  games  until 
they  become  enslaved  to  the  gambling  habit.  The 
meager  outlet  for  the  energies  of  the  boy  of  the  slums 
results  in  spontaneous  boys'  clubs  conducted  in  forbidden 
places  and  under  most  unwholesome  conditions.  Such 
clubs  are  the  natural  development  of  the  organization  of 
the  street  gang,  and  their  work  is  equally  wanton  and 
mischievous. 

c.   Criminal  Tendencies. 

In  spite  of  the  theory  that  the  child  of  the  juvenile 
courts  is  in  need  of  formation  instead  of  reformation,  it  is 
plainly  apparent  that  a  considerable  number  of  children 
have  acquired  criminal  tendencies.  To  what  extent  these 
are  due  to  natural  and  inherited  traits  and  instincts  and 
what  importance  shall  be  attached  to  the  contagion  of  an 
early  vicious  environment  are  still  unsolved  questions. 
Instances  of  moral  perverts  are  sufficiently  numerous. 
Persons  are  born  with  the  innate  tendency  to  develop 
into  full-fledged  criminals.  Boys  who  have  not  suffered 
from  the  slightest  suggestion  of  larceny  have  degenerated 


CAUSES  OF^  JUVENILE  DELINQUENCY        231 

into  thieves,  thus  indicating  that  their  criminality  was 
instinctive.  It  is  probable,  however,  but  scientifically 
undetermined,  that  the  majority  of  children  included  in 
this  class  are  indebted  for  their  delinquency  to  the  influence 
of  parents  and  the  vicious  surroundings  of  their  earliest 
youth.  Many  of  these  children  are  precocious,  and  form 
habits  and  tendencies  sooner  than  is  usual.  It  appears, 
therefore,  that  physical  heredity  is  responsible  for  rela- 
tively few  delinquents. 

This  group  of  children  may  be  classified  as  follows, 
beginning  with  the  less  serious  and  proceeding  toward  the 
more  heinous  offenders :  the  morally  weak  who  easily 
yield  to  the  temptation  to  do  wrong  and  who  have  an 
apparent  bias  in  this  direction;  the  vagrant  child  who 
glories  in  remaining  away  from  home  at  night  and  who 
dehghts  in  the  joys  of  numerous  escapades;  the  truant 
who  disobeys  his  parents  and  habitually  outwits  the  teacher 
and  the  attendance  officer ;  and  the  incorrigible  child  who 
not  only  disobeys,  but  maliciously  resists  parental  control. 
The  first  of  these  classes  consists  of  children  who  are  not 
confirmed  in  evil  ways,  but  whose  minds  are  open  to  sug- 
gestions of  wrong  and  mischief.  They  possess  a  plastic 
moral  nature,  and  are  easily  susceptible  to  pernicious  ac- 
tivity of  mind.  The  boys  who  willfully  throw  stones  with 
injurious  intent,  who  place  stones  on  car  tracks  and  attempt 
to  derail  cars,  and  who  play  other  pranks  of  a  serious 
nature  —  these  boys  will  eventually  be  found  in  the  juve- 
nile court.  The  vagrant,  in  many  cases,  has  suffered  from 
parental  cruelty,  and  thus  has  developed  not  only  a  wander- 
ing spirit,  but  an  ugly  disposition  as  well.  As  he  grows 
older  his  bohemian  habits  lead  him  in  the  wake  of  the 
professional  tramp.  The  truant  is  of  similar  nature,  but 
impressed  with  a  heavier  stamp  of  evil.  Boys  who  sleep 
in  boxes  and  sheds  and  elsewhere  away  from  home  at  night, 
who  continually  deceive  their  parents,  and  are  led  away 


232  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

from  their  duties  by  the  associations  they  have  formed, 
rapidly  become  incorrigible.  The  street  clubs  demoralize 
boys  with  tremendous  rapidity,  and  parents,  on  account 
of  their  unwise  methods,  implant  in  their  children  the  seeds 
of  criminality.  Thus  children  at  an  early  age  have  their 
criminal  instincts  so  developed  that  reformation  is  neces- 
sary to  restore  them  to  a  normal  life. 

d.   Street  Trades. 

A  prolific  cause  of  juvenile  delinquency  is  the  influence 
of  the  street  trades  on  the  working  boy.  No  other  form 
of  work  has  such  demoralizing  consequences.  The  vice, 
immorality,  and  delinquency  of  the  newsboy  and  the  mes- 
senger boy  have  already  been  discussed  in  a  former  chap- 
ter. These  boys  are  brought  into  the  juvenile  court,  and 
their  misdemeanors  are  often  so  great  that  reformatory 
treatment  is  necessary  for  them.  Accordingly  they  repre- 
sent a  large  proportion  of  the  boys  in  the  different  insti- 
tutions. The  demoralization  produced  by  the  street 
trades  affects  others  than  those  engaged  in  such  trades,  but 
the  latter  are  the  chief  sufferers  ;  therefore  the  importance 
of  legislation  which  will  shut  off  this  source  of  infection. 

The  causes  of  juvenile  deHnquency  combine  to  operate 
upon  the  same  child,  hence  few  children  are  bad  owing 
to  a  single  cause.  They  have  been  the  target  of  a  com- 
plex of  influences,  —  malnutrition,  parental  incompetency, 
home  conditions,  environmental  associations,  and  criminal 
tendencies.  The  influence  of  the  environmental  factors  are 
the  most  powerful,  and  heredity  is  not  believed  to  account 
for  more  than  one  fifth  of  the  entire  number  of  delinquents. 

4.  Nature  of  Juvenile  Offenses. 

Lack  of  uniformity  of  classification,  among  the  different 
juvenile  courts,  of  the  offenses  for  which  children  are  com- 
mitted to  institutions  or  placed  on  probation,  makes  an 
accurate  ranking  of  the  various  offenses  impossible.     The 


CAUSES  OF  JUVENILE  DELINQUENCY         233 

character  of  offenses,  however,  does  not  differ  widely  from 
city  to  city,  and  children  everywhere  are  prone  to  distrib- 
ute their  delinquency  —  at  least  among  the  most  impor- 
tant offenses  —  in  substantially  similar  proportions.  The 
following  table  shows  the  classification  by  offenses  of  521 
boys  and  45  girls  placed  on  probation  in  the  state  of  New 
York  during  the  last  quarter  of  1907. 


Offense 


Burglary  or  robbery 

Disorderly  conduct  or  breach  of  peace 
Improper  guardianship  or  exposure 
Incorrigibility  or  waywardness 

Larceny 

Truancy 

Violation  of  local  ordinance  .    . 
Other  charges  and  unstated  .    . 


Per  cent 
Girls 


Among  boys,  truancy  seems  to  rank  first,  and  undoubt- 
edly incorrigibility  contains  a  large  amount  of  truancy 
also ;  larceny  comes  second,  but  if  burglary  be  included 
as  an  allied  offense,  then  offenses  against  property  rank 
first  in  importance.  Disorderly  conduct  also  ranks  rela- 
tively high.  Among  the  girls,  improper  guardianship  and 
exposure  are  foremost,  but  owing  to  the  inclusion  of  many 
cases  of  neglect  these  statistics  have  but  little  value.  Apart 
from  this  group  of  offenses  truancy  stands  first,  incorrigi- 
bihty  follows,  while  larceny  ranks  comparatively  low. 
In  the  different  cities  the  relations  are  very  similar ;  lar- 
ceny, truancy,  and  incorrigibility  being  the  chief  offenses 
committed,  and  often  their  frequency  follows  the  order 
given.  New  York  City  reports  a  large  number  of  cases 
under  the  head  of  disorderly  conduct.     In  the  category 


234 


CHILD  PROBLEMS 


of  offenses  all  manner  of  charges  appear,  from  murder  to 
mere  mischievousness. 

The  United  States  Census  Bureau  in  its  enumeration 
of  the  delinquents  in  institutions  gives  the  following  per 
cent  distribution  by  offense  :  ^  — 


Offense 


Against  Society     .    . 

Incorrigibility   .    , 

Truancy  .    .     .    . 

Vagrancy      .     .     . 

Disorderly  conduct 

Other 

Against  the  person  . 
Against  property 

Larceny   .    .    .    . 

Burglary       .    ,    . 

Other 

Neglected  children  . 
Other  offenses       .    . 


Peb  Cent 


50.4 

26.8 

7.2 

5.4 

5.2 

5.8 

2.6 

32.1 

23.0 

7.6 

1.6 

10.3 

4.6 


1  Prisoners  and  Juvenile  Ddinquents,  Bureau  of  Census,  p.  235. 


CHAPTER   II 
the  juvenile  court 

1.   Origin  of  the  Court. 

The  first  official  juvenile  court  dates  back  to  1899,  when 
the  city  of  Chicago  established  its  court,  the  act  having 
been  made  possible  by  a  law  previously  passed  by  the 
lUinois  state  legislature.  The  idea  had,  however,  existed 
in  the  minds  of  many  for  several  decades,  and  in  Massa- 
chusetts steps  in  the  direction  of  a  similar  procedure  were 
taken  as  early  as  1869.  In  that  year  this  state  granted 
children  separate  trials,  at  which  it  also  required  the  state 
agent  for  children  to  be  present.  Dehnquent  children  were 
also  placed  with  private  societies  instead  of  being  held  in 
jails  and  prisons.  The  states  which  practiced  the  most 
advanced  methods  of  child  saving  did  not  lead  in  the 
establishment  of  the  juvenile  court,  their  need  being  less; 
but,  owing  to  reaction  against  heartless  methods  of  pro- 
cedure, the  states  where  little  had  been  done  adopted  the 
new  idea  with  enthusiasm. 

Several  years  of  agitation  preceded  the  successful  at- 
tempt to  secure  a  law  for  Illinois,  but  success  here  gave  a 
remarkable  impetus  to  the  juvenile  court  movement  every- 
where. The  law  was  scattered  broadcast  and  became 
a  basis  for  laws  elsewhere.  In  Denver  a  court  was  estab- 
lished prior  to  the  meeting  of  the  Colorado  legislature 
which  enacted  a  suitable  juvenile  court  law ;  Philadelphia 
introduced  its  court  in  1901.  The  Pennsylvania  law, 
however,  was  declared  unconstitutional,  but  a  new  law 

235 


236  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

was  passed  in  1903,  and  the  court  was  then  permanently 
estabUshed.  New  York  City  followed  in  1902,  and  the 
cities  of  Brooklyn  and  St.  Louis  in  the  succeeding  year. 
The  efficient  Indianapolis  court  was  organized  in  1902. 
All  of  the  large  cities  now  either  have  separate  courts  for 
children,  or  the  individual  courts  have  devised  methods 
of  granting  the  children  separate  trials.  A  probation 
system  has  rapidly  followed  the  organization  of  a  juvenile 
court  wherever  the  latter  has  taken  root. 

The  rapid  rise  of  the  juvenile  court  is  a  marked  instance 
of  the  imitativeness  of  the  American  mind.  Although 
the  new  psychology  had  already  deeply  permeated  the 
minds  of  leaders  in  philanthropic  work,  still  the  movement 
made  but  little  headway.  In  Chicago  boys  had  been 
thrown  into  the  police  station  ;  in  Denver,  within  six  years 
before  the  inauguration  of  the  juvenile  court,  about  2000 
boys  had  been  temporarily  placed  in  jail ;  in  Indianapolis, 
Buffalo,  and  elsewhere  the  large  number  of  children  sub- 
jected to  methods  applicable  to  adults  but  unsuited  to 
themselves  caused  a  revolt  which  needed  only  the  example 
of  a  new  way  of  handling  juvenile  cases.  Chicago  was 
therefore  quickly  followed  by  the  other  cities. 

2.   Organization. 

In  the  majority  of  cases  the  juvenile  court  merely  con- 
sists of  separate  sessions  of  the  circuit  court  and  is  not 
yet  organized  on  an  independent  footing.  It  is  an  append- 
age of  some  other  court  and  is  served  by  one  or  more 
of  the  judges  from  that  court.  In  Denver,  IndianapoHs, 
and  Boston  the  court  is  separately  organized  and  its  judges 
confine  their  judicial  work  to  the  business  of  the  juvenile 
court,  but  this  differentiation  has  only  recently  taken  place. 
The  two  former  cities  now  elect  judges  for  this  position, 
the  term  of  office  in  each  case  being  four  years.  The 
establishment  of  children's  courts  entirely  separated  from 


THE  JUVENILE  COURT  237 

other  forms  of  administration  of  justice  represents  the 
logical  development  of  the  present  movement.  By  a  proper 
division  of  labor  all  children's  cases  —  neglected,  depend- 
ent, and  delinquent,  —  will  be  thrown  into  these  courts 
and  all  other  cases  excluded.  A  more  satisfactory  and 
farsighted  treatment  of  children  will  then  follow. 

A  present  weakness  of  the  juvenile  court  system  is  the 
method  of  rotation  of  judges  as  used  in  many  cities.  In- 
stead of  election  for  a  definite  term,  appointments  for 
short  periods  are  common.  Chicago  selects  one  of  its 
circuit  court  judges  for  a  term  of  one  year.  Fortunately 
it  has  continued  the  same  judge  for  a  number  of  years,  and 
thus  the  city  has  given  to  the  world  two  notable  juvenile 
court  judges.  In  Brooklyn  the  judge  serves  two  months, 
and  six  different  men  occupy  the  bench  during  the  year. 
The  bad  effects  of  this  method  are  partly  minimized  by 
the  long  terms  which  the  judges  serve.  The  system  of 
rotation  tends  to  lessen  the  interest  of  the  judge  in  the 
merits  of  the  varying  child  problems,  and  does  not  allow 
sufficient  specialization  to  meet  the  delicate  problems 
which  daily  confront  the  judge.  Therefore  election  for 
an  extended  term  or  continuous  assignment  over  a  series 
of  years  is  necessary  to  insure  satisfactory  results.  Until 
recently  the  act  of  presiding  over  children's  cases  has  been 
regarded  as  beneath  the  dignity  of  the  judge,  and  therefore 
one  that  should  be  avoided ;  some  of  our  well-known 
judges  began  as  martyrs,  but  the  subject  has  now  been 
invested  with  greater  dignity,  and  the  aversion  no  longer 
exists.  The  growing  consciousness  that  children  offer 
the  greatest  of  all  problems  accounts  for  this  change  of 
attitude. 

3.  Court  Hearings. 

Undue  publicity  of  children's  cases  was  a  problem  before 
the  founding  of  the  juvenile  court,  and  was  one  of  the  causes 


238  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

of  its  origin.  Newspapers  in  many  instances  had  agreed 
to  omit  from  their  columns  accounts  of  juvenile  delin- 
quency because  they  might  embarrass  the  youthful  offender 
and  accordingly  promote  crime.  Separate  hearings  for 
children,  some  of  them  private,  also  preceded  the  court 
proper.  Out  of  the  exigencies  of  the  situation  has  arisen 
the  type  of  hearings  now  conducted  in  the  juvenile  courts. 
Officially  the  hearings  are  of  two  kinds,  pubhc  and  private. 
Most  of  the  cities  retain  the  public  hearing,  but  their 
methods  have  been  so  developed  that  the  public  can  gain 
but  little  through  attendance  at  the  trials.  Few  people 
seem  to  know  when  the  children  are  on  trial,  and  on  ac- 
count of  the  informal  method  adopted  those  who  do  attend 
gain  no  advantage  from  their  presence.  The  judge  is 
usually  seated  at  his  bench,  and  the  defendants,  complain- 
ants, witnesses,  officers,  and  others  directly  interested 
crowd  about  him  in  a  dense  mass.  The  oath  may  or  may 
not  be  administered,  and  then  the  trial  proceeds.  The 
parties  almost  invariably  speak  in  low  tones ;  after  a 
short  trial  the  case  is  concluded  and  its  disposition  ordered. 
Persons  in  the  audience  learn  little  or  nothing  of  the  merits 
of  the  case,  and  the  interest  which  is  excited  is  so  meager 
that  few  spectators  consider  it  worth  while  to  attend. 
What  is  nominally  a  public  hearing  consequently  becomes 
one  which  is  in  practice  largely  private.  Glimpses  of  the 
defendants  and  the  usually  bedraggled  appearance  of  both 
children  and  adults  afford  the  chief  amusement  possible, 
and  this  is  insufficient  to  draw  any  considerable  number 
of  spectators.  The  chief  advantage  of  the  public  hearing 
is  in  the  opportunity  it  gives  to  philanthropic  persons  to 
ascertain  whether  the  child  secures  proper  and  humane 
treatment.  Abuse  of  the  powers  of  the  juvenile  court 
is  also  impossible  under  such  an  arrangement.  The  repre- 
sentatives of  children's  societies,  of  orphan  homes,  and 
persons  directly  interested  in  children,  attend  the  hearings 


THE  JUVENILE  COURT  239 

in  many  cities,   and  satisfy  themselves   concerning  the 
justice  of  the  disposition  of  cases. 

Private  hearings  are  in  vogue  in  a  number  of  cities,  of 
which  Boston  is  an  example.  According  to  this  system 
spectators  are  not  allowed,  and  no  one  is  present  except  the 
parties  directly  participating  in  the  trial  and  the  necessary 
officials.  The  children  are  entirely  saved  from  the  con- 
fusion resulting  from  the  presence  of  an  audience.  A 
child  is  usually  embarrassed  on  meeting  a  person  who 
attended  his  trial  at  the  juvenile  court,  and  the  avoidance 
of  this  possibility  makes  his  reclamation  more  probable. 
The  recreant  parents  also  suffer  a  similar  humihation. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  secrecy  of  private  hearings  invites 
suspicion,  and  the  public  becomes  dissatisfied.  Star 
chamber  methods  are  hinted  at,  for  no  one  knows  of  the 
methods  employed  in  deafing  with  the  children.  Although 
no  harm  has  come  from  the  use  of  this  method,  the  public 
hearing  enjoys  an  advantage  because  it  allays  suspicion 
and  satisfies  critics.  It  allows  a  probing  of  method,  but 
secures  virtual  privacy  by  means  of  the  court  practices 
that  have  developed.  The  juvenile  court  is  or  should  be 
one  of  original  and  unlimited  jurisdiction.  This  enables  the 
judge  to  deal  adequately  with  the  child.  In  exercising 
the  parental  functions  of  the  state  the  delegated  authority 
must  have  a  free  hand  to  govern  the  situation,  otherwise 
the  exercise  of  these  rights  will  be  nugatory.  The  juvenile 
delinquent  is  a  difficult  case ;  hence  efficient  methods 
must  be  authorized.  Jury  trial,  although  allowed  almost 
without  exception,  is  seldom  employed  by  the  court.  The 
case  is  usually  canvassed  by  at  least  one  probation  officer 
before  the  judge,  guided  by  the  facts  so  gathered,  makes 
disposition  of  the  case.  The  judgment  of  trained  officials 
is  far  superior  to  that  of  the  jury  which  would  be  secured, 
and  in  theory  the  judge  is  regarded  as  the  friend  and  pro- 
tector of  the  child.    Accordingly  the  interests  of  the  child 


240  CHILD   PROBLEMS 

will  not  suffer.  By  retaining  his  control  over  the  disposi- 
tion of  the  delinquent,  the  judge  can  facilitate  effective 
reformation.  Given  a  free  hand,  appropriate  treatment 
can  be  prescribed  and  carried  out. 

4.   Disposition  of  Offenders. 

Juvenile  offenders  are  subject  to  several  forms  of  dis- 
position, including  acquittal,  dismissal,  fines,  supervision, 
probation,  commitment  to  institutions,  and  the  require- 
ment of  restitution  for  property  destroyed.  Sentence 
is  imposed  upon  the  boy,  not  as  a  punishment  for  offenses 
committed,  but  as  an  aid  toward  the  building  up  of  his 
character.  The  juvenile  court  does  not  regard  the  child 
as  a  criminal,  but  as  a  plastic  being  capable  of  normal  func- 
tioning and  of  complete  restoration  to  the  accepted  moral 
plane  of  living.  The  decision  of  the  judge  therefore  de- 
pends upon  the  character  of  the  child  rather  than  that  of 
the  offense.  It  is  but  a  step  in  the  constructive  work  of 
developing  character.  It  follows  then  that  the  sentence 
imposed  must  embody  the  corrective  principle  best  appli- 
cable to  each  particular  child.  The  courts  in  the  different 
cities  consequently  vary  widely  in  their  disposition  of 
cases. 

A  large  number  of  cases  are  everywhere  settled  out  of 
court.  In  some  cities  the  character  of  the  law  allows 
complaints  on  flimsy  and  unwarranted  charges.  On  in- 
vestigation many  of  these  grievances  are  settled  amicably 
without  judicial  intervention.  A  considerable  percentage 
of  the  defendants  are  discharged  or  dismissed  after  hearing 
in  court.  In  some  cases  even  the  guilty  are  discharged, 
especially  in  case  of  a  first  offense.  A  reprimand  and  warn- 
ing from  the  judge  usually  accompanies  such  a  disposition 
of  the  case.  A  large  proportion  of  the  children  in  New 
York  City  were  formerly  paroled,  no  sentence  having  been 
imposed,  and  were  not  placed  on  probation.     Commitments 


THE  JUVENILE  COURT  241 

were  also  heavy,  but  with  the  development  of  the  pro- 
bation system  a  small  percentage  of  the  cases  are  now 
placed  under  the  care  of  probation  officers.  Several  cities, 
such  as  Denver  and  Indianapolis,  place  from  70  to  75  per 
cent  of  their  delinquent  children  on  probation,  and  the 
courts  send  a  very  small  number  to  institutions.  Denver 
sends  about  10  per  cent,  but  this  includes  those  who  fail  to 
reform  if  placed  on  probation,  and  who  must  therefore 
receive  sterner  treatment.  The  influence  of  local  con- 
ditions, the  presence  of  reformatories  and  parental  schools, 
and  the  attitude  of  judges  are  sharply  felt  in  the  changing 
proportions  between  commitments  and  probationary 
cases.  In  Yonkers,  New  York,  during  the  four  years 
1903-1907,  commitments  fell  from  53  to  18.1  per  cent, 
while  probation  cases  rose  from  none  to  47.1  per  cent.  St. 
Louis  during  the  five  years  1903-1908  reduced  its  percent- 
age of  original  probation  cases  from  44.1  to  12.2  and  in- 
creased its  commitments  from  30.6  to  34.5  per  cent.  In 
the  latter  city  short  institutional  treatment  finds  much 
favor.  The  child  after  his  release  remains  under  the 
charge  of  the  probation  officers,  thus  swelling  the  actual 
number  of  children  on  probation.  A  number  of  cities 
place  about  one  third  of  their  cases  on  probation,  and  an 
approximately  equal  number  in  reformatory  institutions, 
most  of  the  remainder  being  directly  discharged.  More 
efficient  probation  tends  on  the  whole  to  lessen  the  pro- 
portion committed,  and  to  increase  the  percentage  allowed 
their  liberty  but  answerable  to  the  probation  and  parole 
officers. 

5.  Qualifications  of  the  Juvenile  Court  Judge. 

The  manner  of  his  disposition  of  cases  reflects  the  qual- 
ities of  the  judge,  and  these  are  important  items  in  the 
solution  of  the  difficult  problems  of  the  delinquent  child. 
In  many  respects  the  children's  judge  must  possess  qual- 


242  CHILD_  PROBLEMS 

ities  which  may  be  absent  in  his  compatriots  on  another 
bench.  He  must  possess  the  legal  knowledge  and  judicial 
training  with  which  every  judge  should  be  equipped,  as 
the  training  can  only  enhance  his  efficiency.  Other  qual- 
ities are,  however,  more  essential  for  successful  work : 
first,  the  judge  must  have  a  definite  knowledge  of  child 
psychology.  He  must  be  able  to  know  and  interpret  the 
child,  to  see  the  limitations  of  the  child's  horizon,  and  to 
understand  the  natural  subjective  effects  of  external  in- 
fluences. To  know  the  mind  of  the  child  is  the  first  step 
toward  his  reformation.  Behind  the  offense  stands  the 
offender.  It  is  with  him  that  the  judge  must  deal,  and 
must  deal  wisely.  Children  can  not  be  handled  in  job  lots, 
but  as  individual  packages  only.  Successful  work  by 
the  judge  also  depends  upon  his  knowledge  of  the  socio- 
logical principles  involved.  The  problem  of  juvenile 
delinquency  is  a  social  question,  and  its  legal  phases  are 
only  the  vehicles  utilized  to  transport  the  child  to  the  right 
destination.  The  purpose  and  aim  of  the  work  must  be 
distinctly  understood.  The  social  as  well  as  the  individual 
causes  of  delinquency,  the  handicaps  of  bad  parentage,  and 
the  compulsion  of  environment  are  factors  which  every 
judge  must  consider  in  his  disposition  of  cases.  A  thor- 
ough knowledge  of  the  problems  of  practical  sociology, 
especially  of  those  relating  to  the  life  and  conditions  of 
the  poor,  is  a  necessary  part  of  the  equipment  of  every 
juvenile  court  judge. 

Another  quality  with  which  the  judge  must  be  specially 
endowed  is  a  sympathetic  temperament.  The  so-called 
judicial  temperament  is  out  of  place  in  the  children's  court, 
and  if  introduced  will  only  multiply  the  mass  of  sin  and 
suffering  which  already  exists.  Although  the  functions 
of  the  judge  and  the  probation  officer  must  be  separated 
(and  in  but  few  cases  is  it  possible  or  advisable  that  the 
former  perform  any  of  the  work  assigned  to  the  latter), 


THE  JUVENILE  COURT  243 

still  the  judge  must  actively  plan  for  the  full  reclamation 
of  the  boy  —  a  task  which  can  not  be  effectively  performed 
without  human  sympathy  duly  tempered  with  a  measure 
of  prudence.  The  proper  attitude  of  the  judge  is  summed 
up  in  the  following  extracts  from  an  address  by  Julian 
W.  Mack,  formerly  judge  of  the  Juvenile  Court,  Chicago  :^ 
**  Unless  the  judge  be  really  interested  in  philanthropy, 
you  might  as  well  give  up  the  Juvenile  Court;  unless  he 
realizes  that  the  problem  before  him  is  totally  different 
from  the  problem  either  in  the  civil  or  the  criminal  court, 
that  the  question  which  he  has  to  determine  is  not  —  has 
the  child  done  a  certain  thing  and  should  a  certain  thing 
be  done  to  the  child  because  of  the  act  —  but  it  is  purely 
and  simply,  what  can  we  do  to  save  and  redeem  this  child  ; 
he  might  as  well  abandon  his  position.  But  even  though 
the  judge  have  the  proper  conception  of  the  function  of 
the  Juvenile  Court,  he  must  gain  a  thorough  experience  in 
order  to  be  able  to  deal  with  the  problem.  It  takes  study, 
and  thought,  and  patience,  and  above  all,  experience.  ..." 
The  need  of  judges  fitted  to  direct  the  Hves  of  the  vast  num- 
bers of  erring  children  coming  under  their  control  can  not 
be  too  strongly  emphasized. 

6.  Evolution  of  the  Juvenile  Couet. 

When  first  organized  the  juvenile  court  was  merely  re- 
garded as  an  institution  dealing  with  juvenile  offenders. 
Separate  detention  of  children,  separate  trials,  and  pro- 
bationary oversight  —  these  were  the  principal  functions 
of  the  court.  The  system,  however,  could  not  long  exist 
on  the  theory  that  no  child  is  a  criminal,  without  develop- 
ing preventive  methods.  The  court  therefore  tends  to 
become  a  constructive  force  in  the  community,  and  co- 
operates with  other  agencies  to  improve  the  moral  and 

1  National  Conference  of  Charities  and  Correction,  1906,  p.  217. 


244  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

social  environment  of  the  child.  The  increasing  coopera- 
tion with  attendance  officers,  factory  inspectors,  school 
physicians,  children's  societies,  settlements,  and  churches 
is  an  evidence  of  this  development.  There  is  no  theoretical 
reason  why  the  juvenile  court  should  be  a  branch  of  the 
criminal  court,  therefore  the  former  can  expand  its  func- 
tions so  as  to  include  the  disposition  of  every  variety  of 
case  involving  children  —  delinquent,  neglected,  dependent, 
and  cruelty  cases.  Dependent  children  are  at  present 
usually  handled  in  the  probate  courts,  but  these  cases 
could  very  properly  be  transferred  to  a  children's  court. 
Some  states  have  already  taken  steps  in  this  direction. 
In  the  Denver  court,  for  example,  the  children  are  classified 
as  neglected,  dependent,  and  delinquent.  In  other  cities 
the  classifications  are  usually  limited  to  two,  —  delinquent 
and  neglected,  —  and  the  number  of  neglected  children  is 
about  one  chird  that  of  the  delinquent,  but  if  dependents 
are  included,  the  total  number  of  children  is  more  than 
doubled.  By  concentrating  all  children's  cases  in  a  juve- 
nile court,  the  importance  of  the  court  is  increased  and  a 
greater  variety  of  problems  present  themselves.  Action 
of  this  nature  increases  the  dignity  of  the  court,  and  the 
cases  are  decided  with  increased  gravity.  Judges  recog- 
nize more  clearly  the  importance  of  the  work,  are  inchned 
to  study  the  various  child  problems,  and  become  ambitious 
to  serve  society  through  the  children's  court. 


CHAPTER   III 


THE  PROBATION   SYSTEM 


1.  Origin  of  the  System. 

The  probation  system  antedated  the  juvenile  court 
by  many  years,  Massachusetts  having  begun  this  method 
of  deahng  with  the  delinquent  in  1869.  With  the  rise  of 
the  juvenile  court,  however,  the  probation  system  sprang 
into  greater  prominence.  It  has  been  called  the  "key- 
stone" of  the  juvenile  court,  and  with  reason,  because  it 
alone  makes  the  success  of  the  court  possible.  The  court 
itself  is  little  more  than  the  disposing  agency  directing 
what  shall  be  done  with  the  child,  but  the  probation  offi- 
cer is  the  arm  of  the  law  which  deals  with  the  child  directly. 
These  children  are  the  wards  of  the  state,  and  it  is  the  pro- 
bation officer  who  makes  the  state's  guardianship  effective. 

2.  Extent  of  System. 

Although  the  juvenile  court  is  only  ten  years  old,  thirty- 
four  states  have  enacted  probation  laws  and  are  using  the 
new  method  of  dealing  with  the  youthful  delinquent.  All 
the  states  containing  large  cities  are  included  among  this 
number.  In  1898  Rhode  Island  passed  a  law  providing 
for  the  temporary  supervision  of  delinquents ;  the  Illinois 
law  was  passed  in  1899 ;  and  a  number  of  states  made 
provision  for  probation  in  1903.  Since  then  the  system  has 
been  rapidly  extended.  The  probation  system  is  being 
gradually  brought  under  state  supervision.  Already 
twelve  states  have  adopted  a  partial  or  complete  system 

245 


246  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

of  such  supervision.  Rhode  Island  was  again  the  pioneer, 
and  in  1899  placed  the  general  direction  of  the  work  under 
the  authority  of  the  state  board  of  charities.  The  board 
also  appoints  the  officers  and  fixes  their  salaries.  The 
small  size  of  the  state  renders  this  function  an  easier  one 
than  would  otherwise  be  the  case.  Other  agencies  under 
the  control  of  which  some  states  have  placed  the  probation 
system  are  :  State  Board  of  Prison  Commissioners,  Prison 
Association,  Board  of  Control,  and  State  Probation  Com- 
mission. Two  states  —  Massachusetts  and  New  York  — 
have  adopted  the  last  method  of  control.  State  control 
in  Colorado  permits  the  rejection  of  local  appointments 
to  the  position  of  probation  officer.  The  state  of  Utah 
allows  its  commission  to  appoint  and  fix  the  salaries  of 
both  juvenile  court  judges  and  probation  officers.  Other 
states  limit  the  functions  of  the  state  bodies  to  inquiry 
into  the  methods  and  results  of  probation  work,  to  sug- 
gestions for  its  improvement,  to  the  gathering  of  statistics, 
and  to  attempts  to  secure  a  unification  of  policy  through- 
out the  state. 

3.  Probation  Officers  and  their  Duties. 

The  primary  duties  of  the  probation  officer  are  well 
expressed  in  the  Illinois  statute:  "It  shall  be  the  duty 
of  the  probation  officer  to  make  such  investigation  as  may 
be  required  by  the  court ;  to  be  present  in  court  in  order 
to  represent  the  interest  of  the  child  when  the  case  is  heard ; 
to  furnish  the  court  such  information  and  assistance  as 
the  judge  may  require;  and  to  take  such  charge  of  the 
child  before  and  after  trial  as  may  be  directed  by  the  court." 
In  some  cities  a  head  probation  officer  is  appointed  who 
has  charge  of  the  other  officers.  In  the  larger  cities  spe- 
cialization of  the  work  of  the  officers  has  advanced  consider- 
ably. The  different  types  of  probation  officials  are  the 
following :  — 


THE  PROBATION  SYSTEM  247 

(1)  Paid  officers  whose  sole  duty  is  that  of  investigation 
of  cases  to  be  brought  into  the  court. 

(2)  Paid  officers  confining  their  efforts  to  the  super- 
vision of  the  paroled  child. 

(3)  Unpaid  persons  engaged  in  parole  work. 

(4)  Unpaid  volunteer  workers  whose  duties  are  limited 
to  supervisory  work. 

(5)  The  judge  acting  in  the  capacity  of  probation  officer. 
a.  Investigating  Officials. 

The  delinquent  child  may  be  summoned  into  court  after 
complaint  by  some  citizen  or  official  —  policeman  or 
probation  officer  —  or  he  may  be  brought  on  warrant.  Be- 
fore the  case  of  the  child  is  settled  by  the  court,  a  pre- 
Uminary  investigation  is  made  by  the  probation  officer, 
or  in  the  large  cities  by  the  officers  detailed  for  the  work 
of  investigating  the  cases  of  children  charged  with  delin- 
quency. Such  official  attempts  to  present  sufficiently 
complete  information  to  enable  the  judge  to  dispose  of  the 
case  without  further  evidence.  In  a  well-developed  pro- 
bation system  the  history  of  the  child  and  of  its  parents, 
the  home  conditions,  emplo3niient  of  child  and  of  parents, 
education,  habitual  associations,  nationality  and  nativity, 
religion,  and  other  pertinent  facts  concerning  the  child, 
are  gathered,  and  these  facilitate  the  correct  disposition 
of  the  case.  This  information  is  secured  in  part  from  the 
child  and  his  parents  directly,  but  is  supplemented  and 
corroborated  by  neighbors  and  acquaintances.  School 
records  and  employment  records  are  also  utilized  when 
necessary.  The  chief  probation  officer  gives  his  judg- 
ment upon  the  case,  and  the  judge  in  most  instances  fol- 
lows the  suggestions  made.  Unless  he  is  skillful  in  his 
task,  the  investigating  officer  will  fail  to  collect  many 
of  the  most  important  facts  about  the  child.  A  trained 
worker  is  most  necessary  for  this  work,  and  considerable 
skill  is  required  to  extort  the  truth  from  the  unwilling 


248  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

subjects  of  investigation.  As  indicated,  wherever  there 
is  a  large  amount  of  work  to  be  done,  as  in  the  large  cities, 
there  can  be  much  subdivision  of  labor,  and  the  work  of  the 
probation  staff  can  be  specialized.  In  this  case  some 
of  the  officials  can  hardly  be  regarded  as  probation  officers. 
Greater  economy  and  efficiency  is  gained  if  the  duties  of 
investigation  and  parole  work  are  separated.  If  not  bur- 
dened with  parole  work,  the  investigating  officer  can  secure 
more  adequate  information  and  prepare  each  case  for  a 
more  intelligent  disposition. 

b.  Parole  Officers. 

The  work  of  the  judge  is  less  important  than  that  of 
the  probation  officers  who  carry  out  the  parental  functions 
of  the  court.  The  judge  can  only  determine  the  method 
of  disposition  of  the  delinquent;  the  probation  officer 
must  endeavor  to  restore  him  to  a  normal  moral  status. 
The  child  when  placed  on  probation  presents  a  new  prob- 
lem, and  critical  constructive  work  then  commences.  Pa- 
role officers  must  deal  with  two  kinds  of  delinquents ;  those 
who  are  released  and  simply  placed  under  the  care  of  some 
official,  and  the  children  who  are  conditionally  released 
from  some  institution.  Two  distinct  classes  of  offenders 
are  represented  in  these  tj^Des,  and  the  methods  of  super- 
vision must  correspond. 

In  the  first  place  the  parole  officer  usually  brings  the 
child  to  the  detention  house,  although  in  many  cases  the 
police  still  continue  to  do  so.  If  relieved  of  the  task  of 
making  preliminary  investigations,  the  parole  officer  must 
still  be  familiar  with  the  facts  that  have  been  obtained 
in  order  to  supervise  the  child  efficiently.  His  duties  then 
are  largely  confined  to  supervision.  He  almost  invariably 
requires  the  child  to  report  in  person  at  regular  intervals. 
These  conferences  cover  the  work  and  conduct  of  the  child 
since  the  time  of  the  last  report,  and  outline  the  nature 
of  his  prospective  activities.    Written  reports  are  also 


THE  PROBATION  SYSTEM  249 

filed.  These  consist  of  reports  made  out  by  the  dehnquent 
himself,  reports  from  the  school  which  he  attends,  reports 
from  parents  or  guardians  and  perhaps  employers,  and 
occasionally  from  others.  The  parole  officer  also  files  his 
own  report  of  the  conduct  of  the  child.  When  a  child 
remains  in  his  old  environment  —  and  in  the  majority  of 
cases  the  environment  has  been  responsible  for  the  delin- 
quency—  the  parole  officer  must  be  familiar  with  the 
influences  that  surround  the  delinquent.  He  must  know 
what  the  child  is  doing,  not  from  reports  that  have  been 
filled  out  and  sent  him,  but  from  personal  observation. 
Although  not  a  spy  nor  detective,  he  must  be  familiar 
with  the  daily  routine  of  the  child's  fife,  and  if  he  is  an 
efficient  friend  of  dehnquent  children,  he  mil  take  such 
steps  as  will  lessen  the  temptation  to  repeat  offenses,  and 
will  strengthen  children  in  their  purpose  to  remain  law- 
abiding.  To  supervise  the  activities  of  the  child  in  order 
to  prevent  degeneration,  to  turn  his  attention  to  wholesome 
sports  and  amusements,  to  interest  him  in  better  com- 
panionship, to  surround  him  with  elevating  influences, 
to  discourage  any  proclivity  toward  truancy  and  disobedi- 
ence to  parents ;  in  short,  to  build  up  his  character  — 
these  are  some  of  the  duties  which  the  probation  system 
imposes  upon  its  officials.  Success  can  be  best  obtained 
by  securing  the  cooperation  of  supplementary  agencies 
which  are  able  to  work  permanently  for  the  reclamation 
of  wayward  children,  by  filling  their  lives  with  wholesome 
influences.  Such  agencies  will  continue  to  work  for  the 
good  of  delinquent  children  after  they  are  released  from 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  probation  officer. 

c.    Unpaid  Officials. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  juvenile  court  movement,  the 
principles  of  probation  were  so  misunderstood  that  in 
many  cities  parole  or  probation  officers  were  designated 
by  the  court  to  serve  without  pay.     The  Pennsylvania 


250  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

law  of  1903,  for  example,  provided  for  the  appointment 
by  the  court  of  one  or  more  discreet  persons  of  good  char- 
acter to  serve  as  probation  officers  during  the  pleasure 
of  the  court,  said  probation  officers  to  receive  no  compen- 
sation from  the  public  treasury ;  and  it  further  required 
that  the  probation  officers  make  such  investigations  as 
the  court  might  demand,  that  they  be  present  in  court 
when  the  case  was  heard,  that  they  furnish  the  court  such 
information  and  assistance  as  the  court  might  require,  and 
that  they  take  such  charge  of  the  child  before  or  after 
trial  as  the  court  might  direct.  Compulsory  unpaid  ser- 
vice has  had  a  short-lived  existence  in  the  United  States. 
Practically  every  state  having  probation  laws  has  pro- 
vided public  compensation  for  its  probation  officers,  al- 
though in  many  cases  very  meager  salaries  are  being  paid. 

Social  workers  recognized  almost  immediately  the 
necessity  of  granting  compensation  to  the  probation  offi- 
cers in  order  to  secure  enough  competent  individuals  for 
the  work.  The  burden  of  providing  salaries  for  the  officials 
was  sometimes  borne  by  women's  clubs,  sometimes  by 
churches,  and  sometimes  by  settlements  and  other  organi- 
zations interested  in  social  betterment.  It  is  needless 
to  say  that  the  compensation  given  under  this  system 
was  far  from  adequate.  This  fact,  together  with  the  justice 
and  propriety  of  salaries  paid  from  the  public  treasury, 
hastened  the  advent  of  a  system  of  public  compensation. 

A  serious  objection  to  compulsory  unpaid  work  consists 
in  the  difficulty  of  securing  trained  workers  for  this  purpose. 
The  trained  worker  is  almost  invariably  a  person  who 
makes  the  work  a  means  of  gaining  a  Hvelihood  and  natu- 
rally endeavors  to  increase  his  efficiency  so  as  to  gain  a 
reputation  and  command  a  higher  salary.  Those  in- 
dividuals who  have  sufficient  leisure  to  undertake  these 
duties  without  requiring  pay  rarely  possess  the  training 
and  experience  needed  for  successful  work.     Often  they 


THE  PROBATION  SYSTEM  251 

are  unwilling  to  accept  the  inconveniences  necessary  to 
success. 

d.    Volunteer  Probation  Officers. 

The  relation  of  the  volunteer  worker  to  the  court  system 
is  somewhat  different  from  that  of  the  appointed  unpaid 
worker.  The  volunteer  deliberately  undertakes  without 
compensation  part  of  the  work  falling  within  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  probation  officials.  He  is  expected  to  do  faith- 
fully the  work  which  is  assigned  to  him.  The  volunteer 
system  in  charitable  enterprise  in  the  United  States  rests 
on  a  rather  insecure  basis ;  whereas  in  Germany  under 
the  Elberfeld  system  such  honor  attaches  to  unpaid  work 
as  to  make  the  office  a  stepping-stone  to  a  pubUc  career. 
Only  an  incentive  of  this  kind  can  insure  successful  results 
from  unpaid  work.  In  the  United  States  as  yet  no  such 
incentive  has  been  developed.  The  volunteer,  however, 
is  not  drafted  into  the  service,  but  is  appointed  only  after 
signifying  his  desire  to  assist  in  the  work  of  the  probation 
office.  Therefore  it  might  be  supposed  that  only  persons 
sincerely  interested  in  the  work  would  apply  for  appoint- 
ment. In  actual  practice  volunteer  work,  which  is  most 
commonly  carried  on  by  women,  is  handicapped  by  the 
following  disadvantages :  — 

(1)  Frequently  the  volunteer  has  only  an  ephemeral  in- 
terest in  probation  work  —  an  interest  excited  by  a  sudden 
contact  with  the  fascinating  features  of  the  problem.  After 
a  few  reverses  in  attempting  to  reform  delinquent  children, 
her  ardor  cools,  and  as  she  does  not  feel  the  responsibility 
borne  by  a  paid  official,  her  efficiency  rapidly  declines. 

(2)  Volunteer  work  is  often  in  danger  of  becoming  fash- 
ionable. When  such  conditions  obtain,  it  is  less  the  spirit 
of  service  than  the  popularity  of  service  which  dominates 
the  volunteer. 

(3)  It  can  never  be  regarded  as  more  than  a  mere  avo- 
cation, and  this  can  often  be  conveniently  slighted,  when 


252  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

other  interests,  such  as  dinners,  balls,  etc.,  absorb  the  mind. 
The  needs  of  the  child  are  not  made  paramount,  and  there- 
fore do  not  receive  sufficient  attention.  On  account  of 
her  inexperience  and  lack  of  training,  the  volunteer  is 
often  an  incompetent  guide,  and  much  harm  may  result. 

On  the  other  hand,  capable  volunteers  for  probation 
work  are  frequently  secured  from  the  general  body  of 
social  workers  in  any  community.  The  principle  of  volun- 
teer service  must  be  maintained,  but  whether  such  service 
shall  be  given  in  connection  with  the  juvenile  court  or 
with  some  other  form  of  philanthropic  endeavor  depends 
upon  the  comparative  harmfulness  of  the  results.  Some 
temporary  harm  may  be  tolerated  if  the  undoubted  result 
would  be  the  enlargement  of  the  area  of  interest  in  social 
problems.  Social  progress  depends  upon  a  widened  area 
of  intelligent  interest  in  the  welfare  of  humanity. 

The  most  extensive  experiment  with  volunteer  proba- 
tion officers  has  been  conducted  in  Indianapolis,  where, 
since  only  two  regular  probation  officers  were  at  first  avail- 
able, it  was  necessary  to  rely  in  part  upon  volunteer  help.^ 
During  the  first  year  of  the  existence  of  the  juvenile  court  in 
that  city,  nearly  190  men  and  women  offered  their  services. 
About  80  of  these  were  employed,  and  240  children,  or  an 
average  of  three  each,  were  assigned  to  them.  A  large 
percentage  of  the  volunteers  were  men  of  affairs  full  of 
practical  suggestions.  The  philanthropic  organizations 
and  societies  also  contributed  some  efficient  workers. 
At  first  the  system  in  Indianapolis  met  with  considerable 
success,  but  at  present  it  is  somewhat  disorganized. 

In  many  of  the  larger  cities  volunteers  have  been  accepted 
and  a  number  of  cases  assigned  to  each  officer,  but  the 
practice  is  being  discouraged  in  favor  of  a  working  corps 

1  Children's  Courts  in  the  U.  S.  58th  Congress,  2d  Session,  House  of 
Rep.,  Doc.  No.  701,  p.  153  ;  also  National  Conference  of  Charities  and 
Correction,  1904,  p.  369.     Article  by  Mrs.  Helen  Rogers. 


THE  PROBATION  SYSTEM  253 

of  paid  officials  only.  The  city  of  Buffalo,  however, 
depends  largely  upon  an  efficient  corps  of  volunteers  for 
its  probation  work.  In  1908  the  court  was  assisted  by 
72  such  persons,  the  majority  of  whom  were  connected 
with  educational,  religious,  or  philanthropic  work.  It  is 
to  be  hoped  that  through  the  gradual  extension  of  volun- 
teer work  the  paid  officials  will  be  aided,  but  not  displaced. 

e.   The  Judge  as  Probation  Officer. 

In  a  few  cases  the  judges  partially  assume  the  function 
of  probation  officer,  and  compel  delinquent  children  to 
report  to  them  as  well  as  to  other  officials.  The  prin- 
cipal cities  in  which  this  system  has  found  favor  are  Den- 
ver, Washington,  and  Salt  Lake  City.  The  success  of 
this  system  depends  largely  upon  the  concurrence  of  two 
factors :  a  judge  with  a  strong  personal  influence,  and  a 
citj'  of  small  or  medium  size,  such  as  the  cities  named  above. 
The  able  judge  of  the  Denver  juvenile  court  originated 
the  system,  and  nearly  three  hundred  boys  report  to  his 
court  every  other  Saturday,  and  come  into  direct  contact 
with  the  judge.^  Common  sense  talks  are  given,  and  loy- 
alty to  the  court  and  to  law  is  inspired  in  the  boys.  Fre- 
quent individual  conferences  with  the  boys  are  held,  and 
their  difficulties  and  problems  made  plain  and  plans  of 
conduct  worked  out.  The  judge  consequently  becomes 
a  friend  and  adviser  instead  of  remaining  a  mere  official 
executing  the  functions  of  his  office.  Two  principal  results 
have  developed  in  Denver  :  first,  loyalty  to  the  judge  and 
proper  behavior  in  order  to  demonstrate  this  fact ;  second, 
the  growth  of  a  class  of  voluntary  delinquents,  that  is, 
a  class  of  boys  who  voluntarily  confess  to  the  court  that 
they  have  been  violating  the  law.  Many  of  these  boys 
desire  to  mend  their  ways,  but  find  it  difficult  to  do  so  with- 
out being  placed  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  court.  In 
two  years  150  such  boys  have  come  into  the  Denver  court, 

J  Children's  Courts  in  the  United  States,  pp.  34,  80,  etc. 


254  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

and  among  them  have  been  a  number  of  serious  offenders. 
Although  several  cities  have  adopted  in  part  the  method  of 
the  Denver  court,  the  majority  have  delegated  the  work  of 
probation  entirely  to  their  probation  officers.  Unless  the 
judge  understands  children  thoroughly  and  has  the  proper 
temperament,  he  can  not  inspire  the  delinquent  boy  with  up- 
lifting motives.  He  loses  his  dignity  and  falls  into  contempt. 

4.  Qualities  of  Probation  Officers. 

Since  probation  officers  are  the  most  important  adjunct 
of  the  juvenile  court,  their  quahties  will  determine  the  suc- 
cess of  the  system.  They  must  have  a  comprehensive 
understanding  of  child  psychology  and  know  how  to  deal 
with  children ;  they  must  have  personal  touch  and  know 
the  secret  byways  to  the  child's  heart ;  they  must  be  able 
to  influence  their  wards  and  rouse  in  them  moral  and 
noble  ambitions ;  they  must  promote  the  development 
of  the  child's  moral  qualities,  since  he  is  still  in  process  of 
formation.  This  they  can  not  do  without  an  unlimited 
fund  of  patience.  They  must  be  sympathetic  but  not 
sentimental,  and  they  require  a  quality  of  firmness  which 
will  give  the  child  resolution.  This  is  urgently  needed,  for 
the  absence  of  parental  firmness  is  responsible  for  much 
serious  delinquency.  The  probation  officer  must  have  an 
outlook  sufficiently  broad  to  comprehend  the  needs  and  in- 
terests of  the  child  and  to  make  the  most  of  them.  Finally, 
he  must  be  never-ceasing  in  his  vigils,  for  the  time  allowed 
him  to  mold  the  child's  character  is  all  too  short. 

5.  Probation  Districts. 

Two  different  methods  of  assigning  cases  to  the  proba- 
tion officers  are  in  operation.  According  to  one,  the  city 
is  divided  into  districts,  to  each  of  which  a  different  officer 
is  assigned,  who  cares  for  all  the  cases  in  this  district.  The 
advantage  of  this  plan  Hes  in  the  fact  that  the  territory 


THE  PROBATION  SYSTEM  255 

to  be  covered  by  the  official  is  so  compact  that  he  is  able 
to  become  acquainted  with  the  conditions  and  can  therefore 
plan  more  successfully  the  program  for  each  child.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  acceptance  of  every  variety  of  case 
prevents  such  specialization  as  would  conduce  to  the  most 
intelligent  methods  of  treatment.  The  district  plan  may 
be  somewhat  modified  by  increasing  the  size  of  each  dis- 
trict and  placing  two  officers  therein.  One  of  these  should 
be  a  woman  having  charge  of  delinquent  girls  and  the 
smaller  boys.  Philadelphia  and  Chicago  furnish  examples 
of  the  district  method. 

According  to  the  second  method,  each  probation  officer 
has  charge  of  a  special  type  of  cases  which  may  be  scat- 
tered throughout  the  city.  Colored  children  are  cared 
for  by  a  colored  official ;  white  girls  by  a  white  woman ; 
and  cases  of  very  serious  delinquency  by  a  man  trained 
in  the  art  of  handling  this  type  of  boys.  This  plan,  while 
it  may  enable  the  official  to  acquaint  himself  with  the 
details  of  a  case,  does  not  allow  him  to  understand  thor- 
oughly the  community  in  which  the  delinquent  resides. 
It  likewise  compels  him  to  cover  a  large  territory,  and 
occasions  a  considerable  loss  of  time.  Furthermore  it  les- 
sens the  opportunity  of  the  probation  officer  to  identify 
himself  with  a  community  in  a  positive  and.  constructive 
manner.  Its  chief  virtue  lies  in  the  advantage  which 
specialization  in  types  of  delinquency  affords.  St.  Louis 
and  Brooklyn  are  the  principal  examples  of  this  method 
of  assigning  probation  cases. 

6.    Length  of  Probation. 

Courts  occasionally  grant  a  suspension  of  sentence 
without  submitting  the  offender  to  probation,  but  ordi- 
narily juvenile  delinquents  are  placed  on  probation  for  a 
hmited  time.  The  average  length  of  probation  as  repre- 
sented by  the  practice  in  several  leading  cities  is  indicated 


256  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

in  the  following  table  compiled  by  Mr.  Roger  N.  Baldwin, 
Chief  Probation  Officer  of  St.  Louis:  — 


Cities 

Length  op  Probation 

St.  Louis 

6  to  18  months  (average  10  months) 

Brooklyn 

Average  4  months 

Boston 

6  to  18  months  (average  9  months) 

Indianapolis     .... 

Average  1  year 

Cleveland 

Average  3  months 

Chicago 

From  6  months  to  3  or  4  years 

Denver 

6  months  to  2  years 

These  figures  ^  show  considerable  variety  in  the  average 
length  of  probation,  as  well  as  uncertainty  on  the  part  of 
some  of  the  courts  as  to  the  precise  average  which  their 
statistics  would  yield.  In  Yonkers,  New  York,  investiga- 
tion revealed  an  average  length  of  probation  of  not  more 
than  three  months.  This  was  regarded  as  too  short  by 
the  New  York  State  Probation  Commission,  which  recom- 
mended a  minimum  period  of  six  months  for  practically  all 
delinquent  cases.  It  should  be  evident  that  if  permanent 
cures  are  to  be  effected  a  reasonable  length  of  time  must  be 
allowed  to  enable  the  probation  officer  to  perfect  a  program 
of  reform  for  each  child  under  his  control.  An  average  of 
nine  or  ten  months  is  none  too  long  for  this  purpose. 

7.  Number  of  Cases  per  Official. 

Volunteer  officers  do  not  usually  care  for  more  than  two 
or  three  cases  each,  but  regularly  paid  officials  each  handle 
a  large  number.  The  different  cities  vary  widely  in  this 
respect,  the  number  of  probationers  per  official  ranging 
from  50  to  about  130.  The  number  which  can  be  con- 
veniently handled  depends  partly  upon  the  character  of 

1  Report  of  the  Juvenile  Court,  St.  Louis,  190S. 


THE  PROBATION  SYSTEM 


257 


the  offenders  and  partly  on  the  length  of  the  probation 
period.  Serious  cases  can  not  be  given  too  much  attention, 
and  the  care  of  75  delinquents  is  sufficient  work  for  the 
average  probation  officer.  If  this  number  is  exceeded, 
unsatisfactory  results  are  likely  to  follow. 

8.  Results  of  Probation. 

The  precise  results  of  the  new  system  of  handling  cases 
offdehnquent  children  can  not  be  determined,  as  the  method 
has  not  been  in  operation  a  sufficient  length  of  time.  It 
will  first  be  necessary  to  ascertain  to  what  extent  peni- 
tentiary convicts  as  well  as  vagrants,  mendicants,  and 
inefficient  workingmen  are  recruited  from  the  ranks  of 
former  juvenile  delinquents.  Some  rough  estimates  of  the 
results  can,  however,  be  made  by  noting  the  percentage 
of  recurring  and  successful  cases.  Several  large  cities  re- 
port about  30  per  cent  of  the  cases  as  having  appeared  two 
or  more  times,  thus  indicating  either  that  the  probation  was 
insufficient  or  that  the  boy  was  incorrigible.  Third  ap- 
pearances in  court,  however,  range  only  from  one  fourth 
to  one  half  of  the  number  of  second  offenses.  This  seems 
to  show  that  additional  probation  and  treatment  is  de- 
cidedly effective.  The  following  table  records  the  results 
of  probation  in  about  470  cases  in  the  state  of  New  York  :  ^ 


REStTLTS 

Per  Cent 
Boys 

Per  Cent 
Girls 

Discharged  with  improvement       .     . 
Discharged  without  improvement 
Rearrested  and  committed   .... 
Rearrested  and  still  in  custody,  pend- 

■    ing  final  disposition 

Absconded 

78.7 

3 

11.9 

1.4 
1.4 
3 

95.4 
2.3      ^ 
2.3 

Removed 

1  First  Report  of  the  State  Probation  Commission,  p.  30. 


258  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

The  investigation  conducted  in  the  city  of  Yonkers 
showed  that  from  two  thirds  to  three  fourths  of  the  pro- 
bationers were  benefited,  that  the  system  was  especially 
successful  in  the  prevention  of  truancy,  and  that  com- 
mitments had  been  greatly  reduced.  It  appears  that  pro- 
bation fails  in  less  than  20  per  cent  of  the  cases,  and  that, 
as  the  foregoing  table  shows,  more  than  four  fifths  of  the 
delinquents  are  positively  benefited  thereby.  During 
the  first  two  years  of  the  Denver  court  about  5.5  per  cent 
of  the  probationers  failed  under  the  system.  The  first 
figures  from  Indianapolis  showed  about  10  per  cent  of 
unsuccessful  cases.  These  statistics  are  somewhat  mis- 
leading because  they  do  not  include  the  cases  committed 
to  institutions,  to  which  the  more  flagrant  offenders  are 
usually  sent.  Commonly,  probation  deals  with  the  first  and 
less  callous  offender  rather  than  the  serious  lawbreaker. 
On  the  other  hand,  social  workers  report  that  children 
frequently  boast  of  their  juvenile  court  record.  The  best 
possible  results  can  not  be  obtained  so  long  as  this  is  true. 

The  effects  of  probation  are  profoundly  modified  by  the 
existence  of  adequate  supplementary  agencies  aiming 
to  fill  the  life  of  the  child  with  forms  of  activity  which 
tend  to  develop  his  better  nature.  The  success  of  proba- 
tion in  the  parts  of  Chicago  supplied  with  small  parks  is 
an  example.  It  is  plain  that  the  system  has  justified  its 
present  existence,  but  its  future  is  uncertain.  The  test 
of  probation  is  not  the  percentage  of  children  that  are 
reformed,  but  the  superiority  of  the  system  over  other  pre- 
ventive and  constructive  agencies.  The  permanency 
of  the  probation  system  depends  upon  this  superiority. 

9.   Essentials  of  a  Successful  Peobation  System. 

Among  the  requisites  of  a  successful  probation  system 
are  the  following  :  — 

(1)   Civil  service  examinations,  and  trained  probation 


THE  PROBATION  SYSTEM  259 

officers,  for  purposes  both  of  investigation  and  of  super- 
vision. 

(2)  Adequate  salaries  to  retain  a  corps  of  good  officials. 

(3)  The  care  by  a  single  probation  officer  of  no  more 
cases  than  will  make  possible  personal  relations,  and  the 
use  of  personal  influence  over  the  delinquents. 

(4)  Cooperation  with  the  other  child-saving  agencies  of 
the  community. 

(5)  A  period  of  probation  of  sufficient  length  to  impress 
the  child  with  law-abiding  tendencies. 

(6)  A  diagnosis  of  the  causes  of  delinquency  so  com- 
plete as  to  make  possible  an  adequate  program  of  pre- 
vention. 

(7)  The  utilization  of  all  available  preventive  agencies, 
and  the  inauguration  of  beneficial  environmental  influences 
so  as  to  diminish  the  need  of  a  probation  system. 

(8)  A  judge  interested  in  probation  and  in  full  sympathy 
with  probation  officials. 


CHAPTER   IV 


REFORMATORY  INSTITUTIONS 


1.  Evolution  of  Institutional  Treatment. 

Adequate  care  of  delinquent  children  can  not  be  given 
without  the  aid  of  reformatory  institutions  of  various 
kinds.  At  each  stage  of  their  adolescence  children  must 
be  subjected  to  forms  of  treatment  appropriate  to  their 
psychological  and  physiological  needs.  Probation  may 
be  best  for  one  child  ;  institutional  care  for  another.  The 
former,  however,  has  limitations  which  can  not  at  present 
be  overcome,  hence  the  reformatory  is  a  necessary  supple- 
ment. The  age  of  the  child  determines  the  type  of  in- 
stitution best  fitted  to  benefit  him. 

The  social  attitude  toward  the  proper  function  of  an 
institution  for  delinquent  children  has  undergone  a  very 
interesting  change,  and  is  reflected  in  the  names  given  to 
such  institutions.  Originally  they  were  named  '^Houses 
of  Refuge"  —  a  name  which  still  clings  to  a  number  of 
reform  schools  throughout  the  country.  The  name  is  a 
relic  of  the  day  when  the  object  of  institutional  care  was 
less  that  of  restoration  to  right  living  than  that  of 
providing  a  means  of  escape  from  temptations.  Such 
an  object  is  wholly  foreign  to  the  enlightened  methods 
of  to-day.  The  first  House  of  Refuge  in  the  United  States 
was  established  in  New  York  City  in  1825.  The  Lyman 
School  in  Massachusetts,  opened  in  1848,  was  the  first  such 
institution  placed  under  the  exclusive  control  of  the  state.^ 

1  See  National  Conference  of  Charities  and  Correction,  1901,  pp.  245  ff. 

260 


REFORMATORY  INSTITUTIONS  261 

As  long  as  venerable  notions  of  human  depravity  and 
the  full  responsibility  of  children  for  their  delinquencies 
prevailed,  the  modern  view  was  quite  impossible.  The 
idea  of  reformation,  however,  took  root,  and  soon  ''Reform 
School"  became  an  appropriate  name  for  these  institutions. 
The  method  of  reform  was  crude  and  unscientific  because 
the  essential  elements  of  child  nature  were  not  understood. 
Reform  meant  the  complete  subjugation  of  the  boy,  which 
often  resulted  in  the  development  of  a  malevolent  spirit, 
owing  to  cruel  treatment  and  to  too  frequent  corporal  pun- 
ishment. Repression  by  suppression  instead  of  by  develop- 
ment therefore  marked  the  earlier  attempts  to  care  for 
delinquent  children,  and  the  Reform  School  is  the  legacy 
of  this  period  of  misguided  effort. 

The  growing  recognition  that  children  were  largely 
untrained  instead  of  criminal  led  to  the  idea  of  the  train- 
ing school.  Accordingly  training  was  seized  upon  as  the 
remedy  for  youthful  criminality.  The  need  of  filling  the 
mind  of  the  boy  with  good  wholesome  thoughts  and  of 
preparing  him  for  a  useful  career  was  recognized  in  the 
program  of  the  institution.  In  assuming  this  position 
the  men  in  charge  of  reformatories  applied  the  correct 
principles.  Experience  has  shown  that  the  most  success- 
ful reformation  has  been  accomplished  by  means  of  trade 
training.  Some  of  the  institutions  therefore  assumed 
the  name  of  ''Industrial  Schools,"  thus  recognizing  not  only 
the  need  of  training  but  the  character  of  training  neces- 
sary to  meet  the  demands  of  the  present  industrial  world. 
That  disincUnation  to  attend  school  and  dissatisfaction  with 
the  kind  of  instruction  received  in  schools  are  important 
causes  of  delinquency  is  a  noteworthy  fact.  That  indus- 
trial training  is  far  more  agreeable  to  this  class  of  persons 
than  literary  education  is  equally  true.  Accordingly  the 
introduction  of  industrial  training  became  the  logical  out- 
come of  the  attempt  to  use  effective  reformatory  measures. 


262  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

The  last  step  in  the  evolution  of  institutional  treatment 
consists  in  the  attempt  to  realize  within  the  walls  of  an 
institution  the  advantages  which  a  good  home  affords. 
No  institution  can  rival  our  best  homes  in  their  possibilities 
of  making  good  citizens.  And  the  average  home  is  better 
than  most  institutions.  Accordingly  the  tried  methods 
of  millions  of  homes  must  be  imitated  as  far  as  possible 
in  the  treatment  of  deUnquents  placed  in  Industrial  Schools. 
In  order  to  preserve  or  reproduce  this  home  life  the  '' Cot- 
tage System"  was  attempted.  Although  this  system 
was  begun  in  1833  in  Hamburg,  Germany,  it  is  not  yet  fully 
developed  and  does  not  properly  supplement  the  industrial 
training  which  the  institutional  child  now  receives.  Illi- 
nois has  recently  named  one  of  its  training  schools  a 
''  Home  "  thus  recognizing  more  fully  their  complete  ob- 
ject and  purpose.  They  should  be  homelike  as  well  as 
preparatory  for  industrial  life. 

2.   Present  Functions  of  Institutions. 

Reformatory  institutions  are  needed  for  several  reasons  : 
first,  the  incorrigible  and  dangerous  child  must  be  defi- 
nitely segregated  from  his  erstwhile  associates  in  order  to 
prevent  their  contamination.  Probation,  even  though  it 
should  prove  ultimately  successful  with  the  incorrigible, 
would  be  too  costly  in  view  of  the  numbers  who  would  be 
led  astray  meanwhile.  Quarantine  is  necessary  to  pre- 
vent the  outbreak  of  an  epidemic.  Second,  many  chil- 
dren can  not  be  reformed  outside  of  training  schools,  and 
such  institutions  furnish  the  only  safeguard  to  society. 
The  rigid  disciphne  which  the  institution  enforces  can  not 
be  supplied  elsewhere,  and  the  habits  which  must  be  formed 
can  only  be  acquired  under  close  surveillance.  Some 
judges  hold  that  the  first  offender  gains  a  very  wholesome 
lesson  if  he  is  permitted  to  serve  several  months  in  the 


REFORMATORY  INSTITUTIONS  263 

training  school.  The  majority  of  judges,  however,  do  not 
commit  the  first  offender  except  in  the  more  flagrant  cases. 
Third,  commitment,  or  its  prospect,  has  a  deterring  in- 
fluence, and  the  effectiveness  of  the  probation  system 
would  be  curtailed  but  for  the  dread  alternative  of  the 
reformatory.  Finally,  children  suffering  from  evil  homes 
can  be  given  a  much  better  environment  and  more  home- 
like surroundings  in  model  institutions  such  as  are  arising 
at  the  present  time.  Probation  is  doomed  to  failure  from 
the  outset  if  bad  boys  are  allowed  to  remain  in  some  of  the 
homes  from  which  they  come.  A  change  of  residence  or 
the  "placing  out"  of  the  boys  is  often  impracticable  or 
unwise,  so  the  only  remaining  course  is  commitment  to  an 
institution. 

3.  Types  of  Institutions. 

a.   Detention  Homes. 

The  Detention  Home  is  a  temporary  shelter  for  the  child 
about  to  be  brought  into  the  juvenile  court.  When  the 
child  is  arrested  he  is  taken  to  this  home,  or,  in  certain 
cases,  allowed  his  liberty  if  reasonable  assurances  are  given 
that  he  will  appear  in  court  at  the  appointed  time.  The 
detention  homes  seldom  provide  for  a  large  number  of 
children.  They  take  the  place  of  the  police  stations  as 
far  as  children  are  concerned,  and  children  are  held  for  only 
a  few  days  at  most.  Separate  accommodations  are  pro- 
vided for  the  two  sexes,  also  playrooms,  lounging  rooms, 
etc.  In  the  smaller  cities,  where  juvenile  court  convenes 
but  once  throughout  the  week,  a  child  may  be  detained 
for  a  period  of  six  days,  and  toward  the  approach  of  court 
day  the  home  is  often  filled  with  prospective  delinquents. 
In  the  larger  cities,  where  the  court  holds  its  sessions  three 
or  more  times  per  week,  the  day  of  trial  arrives  sooner 
and  the  problem  of  the  detention  home  is  less  acute.    After 


264  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

the  conclusion  of  the  trial  the  child  is  removed  from  the 
home  and  placed  according  to  the  disposition  which  has 
been  made  of  the  case. 

b.   Parental  or  Truant  Schools. 

Scarcely  rising  to  the  dignity  and  character  of  an  in- 
stitution, yet  necessary  for  the  reclamation  of  the  bad  boy, 
is  the  parental  school.  The  schools  are  of  two  types.  The 
one  retains  the  child  during  school  hours  only,  and  is  simply 
a  special  day  school  where  manual  training  and  handicraft 
are  emphasized.  Failure  to  attend  these  schools,  when 
ordered  to  do  so,  incurs  additional  punishment,  and  sub- 
jects the  child  to  the  further  discretion  of  the  authorities. 
The  system  suffers  somewhat  from  the  disinclination  of  the 
children  to  work  themselves  out  of  the  school.  They  are 
placed  under  favorable  conditions,  and  many  prefer  to 
remain  there,  thus  making  true  progress  difficult. 

A  second  type  of  parental  school  maintains  institutional 
features.  The  children  are  removed  to  the  school,  and 
are  there  maintained  and  given  instruction.  The  two 
schools  of  New  York  City  belong  to  this  type.  They 
supply  food,  clothing,  bedding,  medical  care,  and  other 
services,  to  the  inmates.  Commitments  are  temporary 
only,  and  either  a  release  or  a  transference  to  some  other 
institution  follows  shortly.  Private  institutions  in  some 
instances  perform  the  functions  of  the  truant  school,  but 
these  do  not  usually  separate  children  committed  for  this 
reason  from  those  who  have  come  for  other  causes,  and 
therefore  often  yield  inferior  results.  The  parental  school 
is  needed  for  the  control  of  wayward,  incorrigible,  and 
truant  children  who  can  not  be  successfully  governed  by 
their  parents  and  who  defy  the  truant  officers  as  well  as 
the  court  officials.  The  school  should  be  devoted  to  chil- 
dren whose  delinquencies  are  not  so  serious  as  to  require 
commitment  to  the  reform  school.  However,  children 
should  not  be  sent  unless  they  are  ten  or  more  years  of 


REFORMATORY  INSTITUTIONS  265 

age.  Younger  children  can  usually  be  disposed  of  accord- 
ing to  the  family  plan,  or  placing-out  system.  For  the 
child  of  twelve  years,  rigorous  discipline  is  often  necessary, 
and  this  can  be  best  provided  by  means  of  a  short  term 
at  such  a  school.  He  will  then  be  prepared  for  probation 
or  for  normal  home  hfe.  At  the  parental  school  he  is 
under  watchful  care,  is  boarded,  is  given  instruction  along 
both  literary  and  industrial  lines,  and  is  measurably 
domesticated.  The  John  Worthy  School  of  Chicago  is 
perhaps  the  most  conspicuous  school  of  this  class. 

c.  Training  Schools,  Industrial  Schools^  and  Houses  of 
Refuge. 

As  already  indicated,  the  institutions  passing  under  the 
various  names  forming  the  topic  of  this  paragraph  all 
belong  to  the  same  type.  At  present  their  purpose,  re- 
gardless of  their  name,  is  identical.  They  are  reforma- 
tories to  which  the  more  serious  cases  of  youthful  delin- 
quency are  sent.  Violations  of  law  which  constitute 
penitentiary  offenses  if  perpetrated  by  adults  require 
the  commitment  of  a  child  guilty  of  a  similar  offense  to 
the  training  or  industrial  school.  In  many  cases  less 
heinous  offenders  are  also  sent  to  these  institutions.  All 
children  under  sixteen  —  the  age  period  during  which 
the  juvenile  court  has  jurisdiction  —  are  subject  to  sen- 
tence to  the  reformatory.  Control  of  the  child  may  be 
maintained  until  his  majority,  although  some  of  the  com- 
mitments are  for  definite  periods. 

These  institutions  should  be  connected  with  the  edu- 
cational system  of  the  city  or  state.  In  theory  they  are 
training  schools  dealing  with  a  class  of  very  difficult  cases. 
The  logical  sequence  of  the  theory  demands  that  the  school 
become  an  integral  part  of  the  educational  work  of  the 
community.  In  the  practical  application  of  methods,  a 
wide  divergence  from  the  normal  may  properly  be  allowed. 
The  Industrial  School  of  the  city  of  St.  Louis  is  controlled 


266  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

by  a  Board  of  Trustees,  which,  under  a  time  contract,  has 
granted  to  the  Board  of  Education  the  charge  of  the  school 
instruction  of  the  children.  Inmates  of  industrial  schools 
should  not  be  released  until  they  give  satisfactory  evidence 
that  their  recommitment  will  not  be  necessary. 

The  various  state  reform  schools  do  not  differ  func- 
tionally from  the  class  of  institutions  just  discussed.  In 
order  that  the  scattered  delinquent  children  of  the  more 
sparsely  settled  districts  may  be  accommodated,  it  is  neces- 
sary for  the  state  to  make  provision  for  their  commitment. 
Many  cities  have  established  their  own  industrial  schools, 
but  state  institutions  are  needed  for  the  benefit  of  the 
smaller  communities.  Some  of  the  state  schools,  how- 
ever, admit  children  up  to  the  age  of  eighteen  years.  Cor- 
rect method  requires  that  children  over  sixteen  years  of 
age  be  separated  from  those  under  that  age.  Where  more 
extended  age  limits  prevail,  the  probability  of  proper  sepa- 
ration is  somewhat  remote. 

4.   Separation  of  Sexes. 

The  number  of  boys  committed  to  public  institutions  for 
delinquent  children  is  about  four  times  that  of  girls.  A 
prime  essential  of  successful  control  consists  in  the  sepa- 
ration of  the  sexes,  either  through  the  establishment  of 
separate  institutions  or  of  separate  departments  in  the 
same  institution  so  conducted  that  no  communication 
between  them  will  be  possible.  Separate  institutions  entail 
a  considerable  duplication  of  equipment,  but  insure  the 
necessary  segregation  of  the  sexes.  The  school  for  girls 
usually  being  smaller,  some  danger  exists  in  regard  to  its 
efficiency.  This  difficulty  is  overcome  when  the  two  sexes 
form  departments  of  the  same  institution.  The  problem 
of  the  delinquent  girl  is  a  most  serious  one,  and  therefore 
she  needs  special  attention.  Regardless  of  the  specific 
offense  for  which  they  may  have  been  committed,  a  very 


REFORMATORY  INSTITUTIONS  267 

large  percentage  of  these  girls  are  immoral.  Their  restora- 
tion will  tax  the  energies  of  the  most  capable  superin- 
tendents. Separate  and  well-equipped  schools  yield  the 
best  results. 

5.  The  Cottage  System. 

The  value  of  the  cottage  system  is  in  exact  proportion 
to  the  needs  of  the  delinquent  children  for  the  uplifting 
and  steadying  influences  of  family  Hfe.  Certain  virtues 
almost  depend  upon  the  home  for  their  perpetuation ;  for 
the  development  of  these  virtues,  home  life  must  be  re- 
stored as  far  as  possible.  In  the  parental  schools,  to 
which  the  younger  children  are  sent,  the  need  of  the  cottage 
system  is  less  apparent.  The  children  are  sent  for  stated 
periods  of  usually  not  more  than  six  months,  and  the  chief 
purpose  to  be  accomplished  is  submission  to  authority 
and  the  enforcement  of  discipline.  The  training,  indus- 
trial, and  reform  schools,  however,  should  all  be  constructed 
on  the  cottage  plan.  The  children  in  these  schools  need 
the  definite  impress  of  family  life.  This  should  form  a 
most  useful  part  of  the  moral  discipline.  The  essential 
features  of  the  cottage  plan  are  these:  separate  buildings 
for  each  family  of  children  ;  families  not  exceeding  forty  in 
number  (the  best  results,  however,  can  not  be  achieved 
unless  the  size  of  the  group  is  reduced  to  less  than  twenty 
persons)  ;  a  preceptress  for  each  cottage ;  separate  dining 
rooms,  and  a  home  life  distinct  from  that  of  the  other 
cottages.  The  personnel  of  each  cottage  should  consist 
of  varied  but  congenial  individuals,  so  as  to  reproduce 
typical  home  conditions.  The  children  of  a  family  are  not 
of  like  ages,  neither  should  those  of  a  cottage  be. 

The  progress  of  the  cottage  system  has  been  considerably 
retarded  by  its  great  cost.  The  institution  type  of  build- 
ing is  so  much  cheaper  that  the  cottage  plan  has  been 
unfavorably  received  on  account  of  the  added  expenditure. 


268  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

And  where  the  system  has  been  nominally  adopted,  the 
number  of  persons  per  cottage  has  usually  ranged  from 
about  forty  to  sixty.  The  hoped-for  individual  contacts 
have  therefore  failed  of  realization.  Institutions  within  the 
borders  of  a  large  city  seldom  hold  a  sufficient  amount  of 
land  to  attempt  the  plan  at  all.  The  greater  the  approxi- 
mation to  the  family  ideal,  the  surer  will  be  the  hope  of 
reformation.  The  modified  cottage  plan,  on  the  other 
hand,  is  better  than  the  old  institutional  type  of  building. 
With  this  system  come  pictures,  decorations,  and  other 
forms  of  beautification,  all  of  which  serve  to  inspire  and 
uplift  the  delinquent.  The  number  of  children  in  reform 
schools  is  not  so  large  but  that  our  public  agencies  can 
properly  develop  a  fairly  successful  system  based  upon 
the  cottage  plan. 

6.   Physical  Training. 

A  very  large  percentage  of  delinquents  are  subnormal 
physically.  In  1901  an  investigation  which  was  made 
of  the  children  in  the  John  Worthy  School  in  Chicago 
revealed  the  fact  that  the  average  physique  and  strength 
of  these  children  was  considerably  less  than  the  normal. 
An  undoubted  effect  upon  their  morals  is  caused  by  this 
deficiency,  and  their  mentality  is  also  somewhat  affected. 
Complete  reformation  therefore  usually  depends  upon 
two  important  requisites  :  suflacient  good  wholesome  food 
and  abundant  physical  exercise.  Much  of  the  success 
of  Elmira  Reformatory  is  due  to  the  emphasis  which  is 
placed  upon  physical  training.  The  experience  of  the 
Philadelphia  House  of  Refuge  also  corroborates  this  prin- 
ciple. After  the  body  has  been  restored  to  normal  con- 
ditions the  child  becomes  more  susceptible  to  the  moral 
influences  with  which  he  is  surrounded.  Strength,  desir- 
able mental  attributes,  and  discipline  are  promoted  by 


REFORMATORY  INSTITUTIONS  269 

exercise,  gymnastics,  and  military  drill.  Every  well- 
equipped  school  is  provided  with  a  gymnasium.  For 
purposes  of  physical  relaxation  and  moral  stimulation  the 
use  of  the  gymnasium  can  not  be  too  highly  commended. 
Stress  is  laid  upon  this  feature  in  the  schools  of  each  sex, 
and  girls  need  the  training  as  abundantly  as  do  the  boys. 
The  training  school  is  a  moral  hospital,  and  good  physique 
conduces  to  good  morals. 

7.  Industrial  and  Literary  Training. 

Training  schools  should  without  exception  be  located 
in  rural  districts  where  an  abundance  of  pure  air  can  be 
freely  secured  and  where  ample  room  is  not  too  costly. 
Furthermore,  the  schools  should  be  provided  with  exten- 
sive farming  facilities.  Sufficient  buildings  can  then  be 
erected,  farming  can  be  successfully  carried  on,  and  ample 
instruction  given  in  trade  and  industry.  The  precise  value 
of  the  practice  in  farming  depends  upon  the  personnel  of 
the  inmates  of  the  institution.  If  the  children  have  been 
largely  gathered  from  the  rural  districts,  it  is  reasonably 
certain  that  a  considerable  proportion  will  return  to  the 
farm  or  small  towns,  and  a  better  knowledge  of  farming 
methods  will  be  a  distinct  gain.  If  the  great  majority 
of  the  boys  are  from  the  large  cities  with  no  knowledge 
of  farming,  nor  inclined  to  study  it,  practice  along  this 
line  must  be  regarded  as  disciphne  rather  than  as  an  at- 
tempt to  prepare  the  child  for  his  life  work.  The  proba- 
bility of  his  migrating  to  the  farm  and  becoming  success- 
ful there  is  too  remote  to  permit  of  serious  consideration. 
The  importance  of  the  farm  for  purposes  of  industrial 
training  has  been  over-emphasized,  but  its  value  for  the 
promotion  of  good  physique  and  right  living  can  not  be 
overestimated. 

In  addition  to  farming  and  gardening,  the  schools  aim 


270  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

to  give  instruction  in  such  trades  as  the  following :  car- 
pentering, painting,  shoemaking,  tailoring,  sewing,  baking, 
bricklaying,  plastering,  and  printing.^  The  girls  are  taught 
domestic  science,  sewing,  millinery,  ironing,  and  in  some 
cases  stenography  and  typewriting.  In  some  institutions 
girls  are  specially  prepared  for  household  work,  because 
this  offers  fewer  temptations  than  many  other  forms  of 
gainful  employment.  Very  properly  many  institutions 
are  almost  entirely  supplied  by  their  own  inmates  with 
the  necessary  clothing,  bedding,  and  agricultural  produce  ; 
buildings  are  repaired  by  their  own  labor ;  and  the  laun- 
dry, kitchen,  and  print  shop  are  operated  by  the  delin- 
quents. The  training  which  the  average  inmate  receives 
equips  him  for  successful  competition  with  other  mem- 
bers of  his  trade  when  he  is  released  from  the  school.  In- 
dustrial training,  by  making  a  livelihood  possible  for 
every  inmate,  lessens  the  incentive  to  continue  a  career 
of  lawlessness.  Furthermore,  the  great  majority  of  these 
children  are  interested  quite  exclusively  in  the  manual  arts 
to  the  disparagement  of  literary  education.  The  boys 
enjoy  the  shop  work,  and  forget  their  mischievous  ten- 
dencies. Inadequate  facihties  for  practice  unfortunately 
handicap  some  of  our  institutions. 

The  literary  training  provided  is  similar  to  such  training 
elsewhere.  Many  of  the  children  are  woefully  lacking 
in  this  respect,  but  every  progressive  school  grants  ample 
means  for  the  child's  education,  and  in  fact  insists  upon  his 
literary  development.  Industrial  training  is  usually  given 
precedence,  but  the  combination  of  the  two  is  necessary 
in  the  outside  world  if  the  child  is  to  hold  his  own.  Music 
plays  an  important  part  in  the  life  of  an  institution ;  es- 
pecially is  this  true  of  schools  for  boys.  The  band  is  not 
only  an  educative  force,  but  a  disciplinary  power.     It  con- 

^  For  an  account  of  the  industrial  training  accorded  to  boys,  see  An- 
nual Reports  of  the  Philadelphia  House  of  Refuge. 


REFORMATORY  INSTITUTIONS  271 

duces  to  the  moral  elevation  of  the  members  of  the  school. 
Many  of  the  children  show  considerable  talent  and  in- 
clination in  the  direction  of  a  musical  education. 

8.  Discipline. 

Present  methods  of  discipline  differ  widely  from  those 
in  operation  some  years  ago.  The  recognition  of  the  facts 
that  the  children  are  not  fully  responsible  for  their  mis- 
deeds, and  that  their  minds  and  morals  are  still  growing, 
serves  to  throw  emphasis  upon  the  positive  upbuilding 
of  the  character  of  the  inmates.  To  lead  them  to  do  right 
and  to  interest  them  in  things  worth  while  rather  than  to 
defy  them  to  do  wrong,  represents  the  principle  on  which 
present  discipline  is  based.  A  premium  is  placed  upon  the 
act  of  doing  right,  but,  if  necessary  for  the  reformation  of 
the  child,  punishment  is  not  withheld.  The  curtailment  of 
opportunities  and  privileges  constitutes  the  form  of  pun- 
ishment enforced  in  many  cases.  Inmates  come  to  value 
the  shghtest  privilege,  and  the  removal  of  such  privileges 
is  not  only  a  hardship  but  a  weighty  deterrent  influ- 
ence. The  increased  use  of  the  indeterminate  sentence 
grants  the  inmate  the  power  of  releasing  himself  from 
the  institution  whenever  his  conduct  justifies  his  freedom. 
An  institution  should  be  as  free  as  possible  from  prison 
features,  even  though  an  occasional  boy  should  escape. 
Modern  discipline  rightly  accommodates  itself  to  this 
condition,  and  the  gain  of  the  inmates  in  self-respect  is 
immeasurably  greater. 

9.  Number  of  Delinquents  in  Institutions. 

No  recent  statistics  on  this  subject  are  available,  and  the 
most  complete  account  of  the  number  of  children  in  in- 
stitutions for  dehnquents  is  given  in  a  special  report  of  the 
United  States  Bureau  of  Census  compiled  in  1904.^    The 

1  Prisoners  and  Juvenile  Delinquents  in  Institutions,  1904,  Bureau 
of  the  Census. 


272 


CHILD  PROBLEMS 


figures  in  this  report  are  based  upon  statistics  gathered 
from  the  institutions  in  39  states  and  territories,  the  re- 
maining states  not  being  provided  with  any.  The  majority 
of  the  institutions  are  pubhc,  but  a  number  of  private 
and  denominational  schools  are  included  because  several 
states  intrust  them  with  the  care  of  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  delinquents.  The  Cathohc  Protectory  at  West- 
chester, New  York,  which  was  included,  contained  at  the 
time  of  the  enumeration  2566  delinquents,  or  about  one 
ninth  of  the  total  number  reported  for  the  entire  United 
States.  Ten  institutions  were  reported  from  New  York, 
and  an  equal  number  from  Massachusetts,  the  majority 
from  the  latter  state  being  truant  schools.  Unfortunately 
such  parental  schools  as  the  John  Worthy  School  of  Chi- 
cago were  omitted  from  the  enumeration. 

The  principal  facts  for  the  United  States  and  for  the 
most  prominent  states  are  given  in  the  following  table :  — 

Juvenile  Delinquents    (June  30,  1904) 


Continental  United  States 

New  York 

Pennsylvania 

Ohio 

Illinois 

Michigan 

Massachusetts      .... 
Maryland 


Total 

Male 

23,034 

18,177 

5,826 

4,718 

1,692 

1,461 

1,741 

1,316 

1,386 

1,062 

1,114 

777 

1,107 

892 

1,070 

938 

Female 

4,857 
1,108 
231 
425 
324 
337 
215 
142 


The  remaining  states  reported  less  than  one  thousand  each, 
and  in  the  South  Central  states  both  the  juvenile  court 
and  reformatory  are  so  little  developed  that  no  accurate 
estimate  of  the  amount  of  delinquency  can  be  made.     It 


REFORMATORY  INSTITUTIONS  273 

appears  that  3162  of  the  total  number  of  delinquents 
enumerated  are  colored.  The  aggregate  number  of  juve- 
nile deUnquents  in  institutions  in  the  United  States  is  un- 
doubtedly much  larger  at  the  present  time,  the  juvenile 
court  having  received  its  greatest  impetus  since  the  com- 
pilation of  this  report.  The  total  number  of  delinquents 
likewise  is  much  larger  than  this  institutional  population, 
since  the  great  majority  of  offenders  are  simply  on  pro- 
bation. 

10.  Term  of  Commitment. 

The  child  is  sent  to  the  institution  because  proper  control 
can  not  be  exercised  over  him  in  his  native  environment. 
The  period  of  incarceration  therefore  should  depend  upon 
the  length  of  time  necessary  to  so  train  the  child  that  effec- 
tive control  outside  of  the  institution  will  be  both  possible 
and  probable.  The  more  youthful  offenders,  such  as  are 
sent  to  parental  schools,  usually  require  but  a  short  period 
of  institutional  training ;  but  the  more  hardened  cases  of 
the  industrial  school  often  stand  in  need  of  indeterminate 
commitment.  Both  the  sentence  and  the  method  of  dis- 
cipline must  be  adapted  to  the  grade  and  character  of  the 
offenders. 

Present  practice  in  regard  to  the  length  of  the  term  of 
commitment  is  well  illustrated  by  the  record  of  the  year 
1904.  Out  of  11,814  persons  committed  during  that  year, 
nearly  40  per  cent  were  given  an  indeterminate  sentence, 
and  41  per  cent  were  committed  for  the  period  of  their 
minority.  Adequate  control  of  the  delinquent  is  thereby 
assured.  In  several  States,  e.g.  Illinois,  Ohio,  New  York, 
and  Pennsylvania,  the  indeterminate  sentence  is  used  in 
the  majority  of  cases,  while  several  states  of  the  Middle 
West  commit  during  minority  only.  In  order  to  be  fair 
to  the  delinquent,  this  form  of  commitment  should,  after 
a  reasonable  length  of  detention  in  the  institution,  be 


274  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

modifiable  to  the  extent  of  permitting  parole  during  good 
behavior. 

11.  Essentials  of  Reformatory  Institutions. 

In  a  brief  summary  of  the  principles  to  be  applied  to  the 
conduct  of  institutions  for  delinquent  children  we  enu- 
merate  the   following :  — 

(1)  The  adoption  of  the  cottage  system  and  the  aboli- 
tion of  the  old  congregate  plan. 

(2)  The  location  of  the  plant  in  some  rural  district. 

(3)  The  complete  separation  of  delinquent  children 
from  other  institutional  children. 

(4)  Separation  of  the  sexes. 

(5)  Emphasis  upon  training  for  self-maintenance. 

(6)  Conditional  release  whenever  the  progress  of  the 
delinquent  justifies  such  action. 

(7)  A  policy  of  upbuilding  character. 


CHAPTER   V 
the  prevention  op  juvenile  delinquency 

1.  Investigation  of  Causes. 

Juvenile  delinquency  can  not  be  prevented  without  a 
prior  knowledge  of  its  causes.  In  spite  of  efforts  to  as- 
certain these  causes,  no  diagnosis  has  yet  been  made  of  a 
sufficient  number  of  delinquent  children  to  discover  the 
exact  truth.  We  do  not  know  how  much  to  attribute 
to  one  factor  and  how  much  to  another.  We  do  not  know 
what  proportion  of  delinquency  is  caused  by  bad  heredity, 
parental  indifference,  street  associations,  street  trades,  im- 
proper school  training,  etc.  The  best  that  has  been  accom- 
plished is  little  more  than  conjecture.  The  fundamental 
step,  therefore,  in  preventive  work  is  to  discover  the  pro- 
portion of  blame  to  be  attributed  to  each  cause  of  delin- 
quency. When  this  is  determined,  the  application  of 
remedies  becomes  more  simple. 

Agencies  are  needed  to  undertake  problems  of  this  kind. 
The  proposed  Federal  Children's  Bureau  could  render  a 
signal  service  to  preventive  philanthropy  by  probing  into 
the  causes  of  delinquency  and  carrjdng  on  the  investiga- 
tions with  such  detail  as  would  establish  beyond  doubt 
the  comparative  importance  of  each  of  the  principal  con- 
tributing factors.  Private  philanthropy  can  conduct 
limited  investigations  of  causes,  and  it  is  significant  that 
several  philanthropic  agencies  in  Chicago  are  at  present 
engaged  in  an  extended  investigation  of  this  character. 
It  is  proposed  to  study  the  boy  directly,  to  weigh  the 

275 


276  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

variety  of  influences  brought  to  bear  upon  him,  to  deter- 
mine these  influences,  and  to  ascertain  the  antecedent 
conditions,  hereditary  and  otherwise,  which  have  predis- 
posed the  child  to  dehnquency.  The  advent  of  state 
probation  commissions  also  increases  the  probability  of 
adequate  investigations  of  the  fundamental  factors  of  the 
problem.  Meanwhile  emphasis  must  be  placed  on  those 
measures  calculated  to  remove  the  present  apparent  causes 
of  juvenile  delinquency. 

2.  Improved  Methods  of  Legal  Control. 

Improved  methods  of  legal  control  of  children  should 
tend  to  lessen  juvenile  delinquency.  The  work  of  the  pro- 
bation system  should  diminish  the  need  of  its  existence. 
Much  preventive  work  can  be  accomplished  by  a  proper 
organization  and  coordination  of  the  philanthropic  re- 
sources of  a  community.  Better  institutional  treatment 
will  reduce  the  number  of  second  offenders,  and  compre- 
hensive adult  delinquency  laws  will  force  parents  to  shoul- 
der the  responsibility  of  wayward  children. 

3.  Juvenile  Improvement  Associations. 

Probably  the  first  association  formed  for  the  purpose  of 
preventing  juvenile  delinquency  was  organized  in  Denver 
in  1903.  Its  avowed  object  was  the  promotion  of  social 
betterment  among  the  children.  Formerly,  dehnquent 
boys  had  been  sent  from  Denver  to  the  Colorado  beet- 
fields,  but  owing  to  the  lack  of  supervision  results  were 
unfavorable.  An  association  was  therefore  organized, 
and  the  children  were  divided  into  groups  of  twenty  each. 
Each  group  was  provided  with  a  camping  outfit  and  placed 
under  the  charge  of  a  competent  person.  In  this  way 
much  good  has  been  accomplished  and  the  impulse  to  crimi- 
nahty  partially  redirected  into  normal  channels.  Sim- 
ilar associations  have  sprung  up  in  a  number  of  our  larger 


PREVENTION  OF  JUVENILE  DELINQUENCY     277 

cities,  and  are  now  carrying  on  such  a  program  of  preven- 
tive work  as  seems  to  be  adapted  to  the  particular  city. 
In  one  city  such  a  club  conducts  the  following  varied  enter- 
prises :  a  system  of  scholarships  for  young  boys  and  girls, 
three  dollars  a  week  being  paid  to  those  receiving  this  form 
of  aid ;  limited  medical  treatment  for  poor  children  ; 
two  boys'  clubs ;  a  home  for  incorrigible  colored  girls ; 
a  summer  camp  lasting  six  weeks  where  more  than  three 
hundred  boys  and  girls  are  accommodated  yearly ;  a  hotel 
for  boys,  and  another  for  girls.  Nearly  every  one  of  these 
agencies  has  been  instrumental  in  directing  the  over- 
flowing energies  of  the  boy  and  girl  into  right  channels. 
Preventive  measures  can  not  successfully  curb  the  activities 
of  the  child,  but  they  can  substitute  forms  of  activities 
which  will  lessen  the  propensities  to  wrong-doing  and 
which  will  encourage  enthusiasm  for  self-culture  and  in- 
dividual development.  Juvenile  improvement  societies 
can  do  much  to  prevent  law-breaking  by  promoting  schemes 
of  social  betterment  among  children. 

4.  Boys'  Clubs. 

Boys'  clubs  require  time,  thought,  and  energy,  but  they 
are  one  of  the  most  useful  methods  of  preventing  boys 
from  accomplishing  mischief.  The  club  operates  to  at- 
tract the  boy  from  the  street ;  to  give  an  honorable  outlet 
to  his  surplus  vitality ;  and  to  socialize  him  as  well  as  to  in- 
sure the  prevention  of  moral  degeneracy.  Boys  will  have 
clubs,  whether  under  good  auspices  or  no.  In  one  large 
city  a  club  was  recently  discovered  holding  its  sessions 
in  a  small  basement  room.  The  equipment  consisted  of  a 
set  of  dominoes  and  a  pail  of  beer  which  was  replenished 
nightly.  Boys  hold  club  meetings  in  the  most  incon- 
ceivable places,  and  frequently  in  the  very  shadow  of  vice 
and  crime.  The  street  gang  tends  to  organize  itself  into 
a  club,  and  if  without  proper  leaders  establishes  itself  in  a 


278  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

degrading  environment.  It  usually  consists  of  boys  of 
similar  ages  and  differing  but  little  in  race  and  religion. 
Therefore  it  can  easily  furnish  the  raw  material  for  suc- 
cessful organization.  A  gang  usually  develops  a  leader. 
The  latter's  adherence  to  a  project  for  the  establishment 
of  a  well-ordered  club  is  necessary  to  prevent  its  subsequent 
demorahzation.  The  club  should  therefore  endeavor  to 
capture  this  type  of  boy.  The  homes  of  so  many  pro- 
spective delinquents  are  so  disreputable  and  their  parents 
so  degraded  and  incompetent  that  the  club  must  be  intro- 
duced to  give  the  boy  an  opportunity  for  wholesome  leisure, 
for  games,  for  sport,  for  reading,  for  Uterary  training,  for 
high-minded  social  intercourse,  and  for  proper  physical 
development.  The  club  must  provide  advantages  which 
the  home,  as  existing  in  thousands  of  instances,  can  in 
no  wise  afford.  It  is  a  happy  antidote  for  the  squalor 
and  wretchedness  of  these  homes,  and  prevents  boys  from 
passing  to  the  sinister  emdronment  of  the  street  or  to  other 
questionable  associations.  The  club  movement  is  not  only 
a  hopeful  preventive  of  juvenile  delinquency,  but  promises 
to  uplift  home  conditions  themselves.  Eventually  the 
home  may  become  so  attractive  that  boys  will  be  less 
anxious  to  seek  amusements  elsewhere. 

There  are  two  principal  types  of  boys'  clubs  :  the  large 
one,  which  the  boys  join  without  the  expectation  of  meeting 
weekly  in  an  organized  capacity,  and  the  small  club,  limited 
to  perhaps  not  more  than  twenty-five  members,  and  which 
generally  acts  as  a  body.  The  former  has  in  a  number 
of  instances  achieved  a  marked  success.  Its  chief  pur- 
pose is  recreation,  and  the  boys  may  come  and  go  when 
they  please,  their  chief  delights  being  games  and  gymnastic 
advantages.  The  Light  Bearers'  Club  of  Kansas  City 
organized  in  1903  has  a  membership  of  five  hundred  boys, 
and  the  effects  of  its  work  are  plainly  distinguishable  in  the 
increased  manly  bearing  and  the  greater  refinement  of 


PREVENTION  OF  JUVENILE  DELINQUENCY     279 

the  club  members.  The  Chicago  Boys'  Club  has  had  a 
most  successful  career.  The  enrolled  membership  for 
1908  was  1266,  the  total  attendance  55,256.  In  addition 
to  the  usual  variety  of  wholesome  sports  and  amusements 
which  it  provided,  it  gave  more  than  6000  free  meals, 
1734  lodgings,  and  3091  free  baths.  Industrial  training 
of  various  kinds  was  also  provided  for  both  boys  and  girls. 
The  club  has  greatly  reduced  the  business  of  the  adjacent 
saloons  —  a  fact  which  demonstrates  its  value  as  a  moral 
and  social  agent. 

Progressive  settlements  also  encourage  the  formation 
of  clubs,  some  of  which  belong  to  the  loosely  organized 
variety,  such  as  the  Boys'  Club  of  Chicago  Commons.  In 
the  majority  of  instances,  however,  settlements  cultivate 
the  smaller  club  conducted  by  a  resident  or  volunteer 
worker.  These  clubs  are  normally  organized  on  an  age 
basis  ;  otherwise  much  disharmony  prevails.  The  smaller 
boys  usually  indulge  in  games  and  sports,  intellectual 
pursuits  being  quite  completely  excluded.  Boys  of  four- 
teen or  more  can  more  profitably  mingle  debating,  dra- 
matics, current  topics,  and  varied  literary  programs,  with 
amusement  and  social  intercourse.  The  club  leader 
should  in  all  cases  grant  the  club  the  greatest  possible 
amount  of  autonomy.  Patience,  self-control,  orderliness, 
and  other  desirable  qualities  are  thereby  developed.  Re- 
sponsibility is  increased  by  a  policy  of  requiring  initiation 
fees  and  regular  dues,  neither,  of  course,  being  prohibitive 
in  amount.  These  clubs,  although  they  do  not  reach 
so  many  individuals,  are  thoroughly  effective  in  their 
restraint  of  juvenile  excesses.  No  one  realizes  more 
deeply  than  does  the  club  leader  the  spirit  of  potential 
good  or  evil  residing  in  a  group  of  boys  between  ten  and 
fifteen  years  of  age.  If  these  boys  can  be  properly  guided 
at  that  time,  the  volume  of  juvenile  delinquency  will  be 
greatly  reduced. 


280  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

The  club  movement  in  favor  of  the  boy,  and  to  some 
extent  of  the  girl  also,  is  now  enlisting  the  support  of  many 
missions  and  churches,  especiallj^  the  institutional  churches. 
These  have  formed  and  established  clubs,  have  provided 
summer  camps,  and  have  arranged  for  outings  on  both 
land  and  water.  The  boys'  club  offers  an  opportunity 
for  our  churches  to  increase  greatly  their  capacity  for 
doing  good.  It  is  to  be  earnestly  hoped  that  their  gradual 
awakening  from  their  social  lethargy  will  result  in  splendid 
development  of  their  power  to  restrain  evil  inclinations 
in  the  child  and  to  encourage  the  latent  good.  The  new 
municipal  civic  centers  conducted  or  projected  by  a  num- 
ber of  our  progressive  cities  afford  an  additional  foothold 
for  the  club  movement  and  should  become  an  important 
factor  in  the  problem.  Private  agencies  can  do  much  to 
encourage  club  work,  and  the  results  will  amply  repay  the 
investment. 

5.   Parks  and  Playgrounds. 

Playgrounds  are  a  factor  in  reducing  juvenile  delin- 
quency. Play  facilities  which  will  draw  the  boy  between 
the  ages  of  twelve  and  sixteen  —  the  years  of  greatest  de- 
linquency—  necessarily  lessen  the  opportunity  of  such 
boys  to  give  vent  to  their  surplus  energies  in  unlawful 
ways.  Wholesome  sport  soon  becomes  attractive  and 
employs  the  energies  of  the  boys.  The  recency  of  the 
playground  movement  makes  it  impossible  to  judge  of  its 
exact  moral  effects,  and  the  relative  value  of  playgrounds 
for  small  children  and  those  for  larger  boys  has  not  been 
determined.  To  be  successful  the  playground  must  at- 
tract the  boy  of  juvenile  court  age  —  that  is,  from  twelve 
to  sixteen  years.  The  small  child  may  be  influenced,  but 
effects  must  be  measured  largely  by  objective  standards  ; 
hence  the  relations  between  the  playground  and  juvenile 
delinquency  furnish  us  with  the  best  test  of  the  moral 


PREVENTION  OF  JUVENILE  DELINQUENCY      281 

values  of  the  playground.  In  numerous  cases  teachers 
have  reported  that  the  bad  boys  in  their  charge  have  re- 
formed under  the  influence  of  some  agent  which  has  kept 
idle  minds  from  contemplating  mischief,  or  even  crime. 
This  agent  may  be  play,  exercise,  the  club,  or  work. 

The  results  of  the  work  of  the  new  recreation  centers 
of  Chicago  indicate  that  the  playground  may  directly 
decrease  the  prevalence  of  juvenile  delinquency.  Pro- 
fessor Allen  T.  Burns  ^  has  compared  the  delinquency 
of  the  area  tributary  to  a  recreation  center  with  the 
delinquency  of  the  same  district  before  the  centers  were 
established.  He  has  shown  that  two  years  after  the  open- 
ing of  the  small  parks  the  delinquency  of  the  South  Side 
decreased  17  per  cent,  while  that  of  the  remainder  of  the 
city  increased  11  per  cent,  thus  indicating  a  net  difference 
in  favor  of  the  former  of  28  per  cent.  In  four  probation 
districts  which  are  provided  with  almost  adequate  play- 
ground facilities,  the  decHne  in  juvenile  delinquency  aver- 
aged 44  per  cent,  but  the  district  having  the  most  uniform 
population  showed  a  decrease  of  70  per  cent.  The  play- 
grounds also  affected  the  percentage  of  successful  proba- 
tion cases  —  that  is,  cases  of  delinquency  that  were  dis- 
charged from  the  care  of  the  officials.  In  the  city  at  large 
this  percentage  was  39,  but  in  the  territory  tributary  to 
the  recreation  centers  46  per  cent  of  the  cases  were  suc- 
cessful. The  general  conclusions  justify  the  belief  that 
these  small  parks  have  been  an  influential  factor  in 
reducing  the  juvenile  delinquency  of  the  city. 

6.  Amusements. 

Children  can  not  forego  the  pleasure  that  is  derived  from 
modern  amusements.  Our  commercial  agencies  are  pro- 
viding cheap  amusements,  but  it  is  important  that  the 
effects  be  uplifting  instead  of  degrading.     The  five-cent 

1  Charities  and  Commons,  October  3,  1908. 


282  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

show,  which  is  so  liberally  patronized,  needs  careful  censor- 
ship. The  committee  recently  organized  in  New  York  City 
for  the  purpose  of  censoring  moving  picture  shows  has 
passed  on  about  80  per  cent  of  the  film  subjects  used  in 
the  United  States.  The  standard  of  nickelodeons  has 
therefore  been  raised,  but  until  all  films  are  properly  cen- 
sored, vicious  subjects  will  continue  to  be  presented  and 
boys  and  girls  be  degraded  thereby.  Standards  likewise 
must  be  slowly  raised,  and  many  films  which  are  at  present 
tolerated  must  eventually  be  excluded.  Local  censorship 
in  the  large  cities  is  also  necessary. 

Many  of  the  scenes  presented  in  such  shows,  especially 
the  more  dramatic  exhibitions,  such  as  robberies,  burglaries, 
and  thriUing  episodes,  although  they  do  not  directly  teach 
vice  and  crime,  so  inflame  the  imagination  of  the  child 
that  he  often  instinctively  purposes  to  reenact  similar 
scenes.  The  great  majority  of  juvenile  delinquents  fre- 
quent the  five-cent  show  and  the  cheap  theater.  Al- 
though causal  connections  can  be  established  only  in  a 
limited  number  of  cases,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  many 
children  are  demoralized  in  this  way. 

The  moving  picture  show  can  be  made  a  wholesome 
amusement  for  children.  Philanthropic  and  municipal 
activity  should  provide  high-class  amusements  consisting 
of  moving  pictures  and  lantern  slide  exhibitions.  The 
recreational  need  of  the  child  can  thus  be  partially  met 
and  elevating  forces  be  granted  an  opportunity  to  exert 
an  unconscious  influence  over  the  boy  and  girl.  The  in- 
creased use  by  our  public  schools  of  appropriate  pictures 
and  scenes  in  the  study  of  history,  geography,  hterature, 
and  other  subjects  will  also  serve  as  a  wholesome  substi- 
tute for  inferior  commercial  recreations. 

The  penny  arcade,  the  cheap  dance  hall,  and  the  pool 
room  supply  additional  forms  of  amusements.  The  views 
which  the  curious  boy  sees  for  one  cent  are  often  sugges- 


PREVENTION  OF  JUVENILE  DELINQUENCY      283 

tive  of,  and  conducive  to,  immorality.  The  cheap  dance 
hall  is  especially  disastrous  to  the  young  girl,  whose  inno- 
cence often  presages  her  downfall.  A  strict  control  of 
such  questionable  amusements  should  be  exercised.  When- 
ever possible,  private,  philanthropic  or  municipal  activity 
should  provide  a  substitute.  This  can  be  done  by  the  use 
of  assembly  halls  in  settlements  and  civic  centers  for  dances 
conducted  in  orderly  ways.  The  pool  rooms,  hkewise, 
must  be  dissociated  from  demoralizing  environmental  in- 
fluences. The  city,  settlements,  churches,  societies,  schools, 
and  clubs  must  furnish  adequate  amusements  and  drive 
vicious  pool  rooms  out  of  existence.  The  problem  of 
providing  amusement  for  children,  and  for  older  boys  and 
girls,  is  one  that  can  not  receive  too  much  attention.  Amuse- 
ment will  be  sought,  and  healthy  social  conditions  depend 
to  a  very  large  degree  upon  the  character  of  the  amuse- 
ments provided. 

7.  Contributory  Delinquency  Laws. 

An  important  method  of  lessening  juvenile  delinquency 
is  the  enactment  of  adult  or  contributory  dehnquency 
laws.  Colorado  enjoys  the  credit  of  having  passed  the 
first  law  of  this  character.  The  purpose  of  this  legisla- 
tion is  to  force  the  responsibility  of  caring  for  the  child 
upon  the  rightful  authority  —  the  parent.  The  interests 
of  the  child  must  be  safeguarded,  but  if  possible  they  should 
be  advanced  through  the  agency  of  the  parents  rather 
than  through  that  of  the  state.  If  a  child  becomes  a  de- 
linquent and  the  parent  has  aided  or  encouraged  such  de- 
linquency, both  should  come  within  reach  of  the  law.  If 
boys  steal  coal  from  the  railroad  yards,  and  their  parents, 
without  compunction  of  conscience,  use  the  coal  for  fuel, 
both  parents  and  children  should  be  held  responsible. 

Contributory  delinquency  laws  contain  three  principal 
provisions :    first,   a  parent,   guardian,   or  other  person 


284  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

having  the  custody  of  a  child,  who  encourages,  aids,  and 
contributes  to  the  dependency  of  such  child  is  guilty  of 
a  misdemeanor ;  second,  the  guilty  person  is  subject  to 
fine  or  imprisonment  or  both.  Fines  range  from  purely 
nominal  sums  to  $1000,  and  imprisonment  may  be  allowed 
in  the  county  j  ail  for  a  term  not  exceeding  one  year.  Third, 
the  judge  maj^  suspend  the  sentence,  provided  the  guilty 
party  complies  with  the  conditions  imposed  upon  him  by 
the  court.  Some  courts  have  given  these  laws  real  vital- 
ity by  compelling  the  misdemeanant  to  pay  a  small  part 
of  the  fine  imposed  on  him  or  to  spend  several  days  in  jail 
as  a  reminder  of  his  duties.  The  remainder  of  the  sentence 
has  then  been  suspended.  Thereafter  the  guilty  party 
has  seldom  neglected  to  discourage  delinquency  among 
his  wards.  An  obstacle  to  the  success  and  widespread 
influence  of  such  a  law  is  the  difficulty  encountered  in 
fastening  responsibility  on  the  parent  or  guardian.  It  is 
not  purposeful  neglect,  but  ignorance  and  even  helplessness, 
that  frequently  accounts  for  the  appearance  of  complicity. 
Contributory  dehnquency  laws  have  been  enacted  in 
twenty-four  states.^  The  provisions  of  the  different  laws 
are  quite  similar,  but  they  do  not  in  all  cases  apply  to  the 
entire  state,  but  frequently  to  the  larger  cities  only. 

An  additional  method  of  enforcing  parental  responsi- 
bility consists  of  compelling  the  persons  legally  responsible 
for  the  child  to  pay  part  or  all  of  the  cost  of  maintaining 
the  latter  in  an  industrial  or  training  school.  Such  a  pro- 
vision of  the  law  should  not  be  mandatory,  but  its  applica- 
tion left  to  the  discretion  of  the  court.  If  parents  have 
been   deliberately    neglectful,   charges    for   maintenance 

^  The  states  which  have  enacted  some  form  of  adult  delinquency  law 
applying  to  either  the  whole  or  part  of  said  state  are  the  following :  Colo- 
rado, Connecticut,  Idaho,  Illinois,  Indiana,  Iowa,  Kansas,  Kentucky, 
Louisiana,  Michigan,  Minnesota,  Missouri,  Montana,  Nebraska,  New 
Jersey,  New  York,  Ohio,  Oregon,  Pennsylvania,  Rhode  Island,  Texas, 
Utah,  Washington,  Wisconsin,  also  the  District  of  Columbia. 


PREVENTION  OF  JUVENILE  DELINQUENCY    285 

may  be  justifiably  required  of  them,  but  if  they  have 
exhausted  their  resources  in  training  their  children,  such 
additional  costs  will  tend  to  make  them  harsh  and  brutal 
in  their  treatment  of  the  children.  It  is  generally  con- 
ceded that  parents  should  be  compelled  to  pay  the  main- 
tenance cost  of  children  sent  to  parental  schools.  Free 
care  of  children  in  such  institutions  sometimes  enables 
parents  to  shirk  the  responsibility  of  training  difficult  boys, 
the  parents  themselves  being  foremost  in  their  efforts  to 
have  the  children  committed.  Typical  cases  have  been 
reported  from  Philadelphia,  where  a  number  of  parents, 
who  were  unwilling  to  pay  for  the  temporary  placing  of 
their  children  in  foster  homes,  succeeded  in  having  them 
sent  to  the  house  of  refuge.  Some  of  the  Brooklyn  judges 
have  found  it  expedient  to  place  parents  under  an  order 
to  contribute  a  weekly  sum  for  the  support  of  their  children 
in  the  truant  school.  For  this  reason  many  Italian  parents 
have  become  enthusiastic  over  the  educational  f^ciUties 
of  the  New  World  !  If  delinquency  becomes  costly,  par- 
ents develop  greater  responsibility. 

i    8.  Socialization  of  the  Public  School. 

As  in  the  case  of  churches,  which  stand  idle  most  of  the 
time,  our  pubHc  school  property  can  be  more  extensively 
used.  If  this  were  done,  another  preventive  of  juvenile 
delinquency  would  be  brought  into  operation.  The  school 
playground  should  be  open  after  school  hours  and  on  Sat- 
urdays. Supervision  would  be  necessary,  but  the  results 
would  justify  the  measure.  Many  schools  already  allow 
this  departure.  Very  wisely,  shower  baths,  a  gymnasium 
equipment  accessible  in  the  evening,  and  club  facilities 
have  been  introduced  in  some  of  our  public  schools.  The 
schools  supply  such  elegant  housing  conditions  that  their 
more  extended  use  for  the  refreshment,  amusement,  and 
physical  advantage  of  the  child  is  not  only  proper,   but 


286  CHILD   PROBLEMS 

neglect  to  make  such  provision  is  distinctly  blameworthy 
and  economically  wasteful.  The  use  of  the  school  for  the 
holding  of  club  meetings  is  especially  desirable. 

9.  Compulsory  School  Attendance  and  Prevention 
OF  Truancy. 

The  school  child  is  in  the  habit-forming  age.  The  habit 
of  truancy  leads  to  incorrigibility  and  criminality.  Tru- 
ancy is  itself  a  violation  of  law  and  an  evasion  of  parental 
desire.  A  large  percentage  of  delinquency  consists  of 
truancy,  and  the  most  serious  aspect  of  the  problem  is  the 
effect  of  truancy  upon  the  child.  He  habituates  himself 
to  lawbreaking  and  suffers  from  the  loss  of  his  school  work. 
Where  the  street  trades  are  open  to  the  unwilling  learner, 
truancy  is  frequent,  the  boy  delighting  in  the  exciting  but 
demoralizing  life  of  the  street.  He  sells  papers  not  only 
before  and  after  school,  but  whenever  his  truant  inclina- 
tions gain  control.  The  street  trader  is  the  most  skillful 
as  well  as  the  most  troublesome  truant. 

The  prevention  of  truancy  depends  upon  four  main 
considerations :  first,  a  compulsory  education  law  apply- 
ing to  all  schools  of  an  elementary  character,  whether 
pubUc,  parochial,  or  private,  and  truant  officers  empowered 
to  compel  attendance  of  all  children  at  one  of  these  schools. 
Second,  an  adequate  and  able  corps  of  officers  to  enforce 
the  laws.  Greater  New  York,  for  example,  maintains 
83  truant  officers,  who  in  1908  discovered  11,865  cases  of 
truancy.  Third,  legal  provision  for  the  punishment  of 
parents  who  connive  at  the  truancy  of  their  children. 
Such  provision  is  of  course  useless  without  adequate  enforce- 
ment. So  far  little  has  been  done  to  punish  indifferent 
parents,  but  parental  responsibifity  can  no  longer  be  neg- 
lected. Fourth,  truant  schools.  These  act  both  as  a 
means  of  reclaiming  truants  and  incorrigibles  and  as  a 
preventive  of  more  widespread  dehnquency.     The  latter 


PREVENTION  OF  JUVENILE  DELINQUENCY     287 

result  depends  largely  upon  the  segregation  of  the  delin- 
quent from  the  normal  children. 

The  causes  of  truancy  must  likewise  receive  attention ; 
otherwise  the  efforts  of  the  attendance  officers  will  avail 
but  httle.  Among  the  principal  causes  are  the  follow- 
ing:  — 

1.  Parental  indifference,  especially  that  of  certain  na- 
tionalities, notably  the  Italians  and  Poles.  Very  few 
Jewish  parents  fail  to  educate  their  children. 

2.  The  lure  of  the  street  trades  and  the  meager  earnings 
which  are  afforded  the  boy  who  would  otherwise  be  pen- 
niless. 

3.  The  unsatisfactory  nature  of  the  elementary  school 
curriculum.  Many  boys  feel  no  interest  in  the  work  ex- 
pected of  them,  do  not  realize  its  ultimate  value,  and  con- 
sider their  time  wasted.  Failure  of  the  schools  to  equip 
them  for  industrial  pursuits  partly  accounts  for  this  atti- 
tude. 

4.  Unfair  treatment  by  their  teachers  of  children  re- 
turned to  school  after  a  period  of  truancy.  These  chil- 
dren need  encouragement  and  should  be  attracted  to  school 
instead  of  being  repelled,  as  is  often  the  case. 

5.  The  dissatisfaction  of  backward  children  with  their 
slow  progress  in  the  schools.  The  over-aged  boy  becomes 
especially  anxious  to  leave  school  and  easily  develops 
truant  habits.  The  removal  of  these  causes  as  well  as  the 
enforcement  of  the  legal  provisions  above  indicated  are 
necessary  for  the  abolition  of  truancy.  If  school  attend- 
ance can  be  enforced,  good  habits  are  formed,  and  the 
opportunity  for  the  development  of  the  baser  instincts 
is  not  lessened. 

10.  Vocational  Training. 

It  is  well  known  that  boys  have  committed  serious 
offenses  and  remained  apparently  unrepentant  in  order 


288  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

to  be  sent  to  a  reformatory  where  they  might  learn  one  of 
the  trades  being  taught  there.  Although  few  offenses 
are  committed  for  this  purpose,  the  sum  total  of  delin- 
quency would  be  lessened  if  the  opportunity  for  learning 
a  trade  were  given  to  all  boys.  The  great  majority  of  men 
in  our  states'  prisons  are  unskilled  laborers,  without  knowl- 
edge of  any  particular  trade.  It  is  desirable  that  children 
before  they  reach  the  sixteenth  year  of  age  be  taught  the 
fundamentals  of  some  trade.  Our  young  boys,  instead  of 
stirring  up  mischief  or  engaging  aimlessly  in  some  tem- 
porary occupation,  can  then  equip  themselves  for  life. 
More  manual  training  in  the  upper  grades  of  the  elemen- 
tary schools  also  serves  to  keep  the  hands  busy  both  within 
and  without  the  schools,  and  is  an  active  deterrent  of  de- 
linquency. The  attempt  to  acquire  skill  is  captivating 
and  is  a  wholesome  activity  because  it  trains  not  only  the 
hand  and  the  eye,  but  the  moral  nature  as  well. 

11.  Prohibition  of  the  Street  Trades,  and  Other 
Measures  of  Child  Protection. 

The  newsboy  standing  or  lounging  about  the  saloon, 
hopping  on  and  off  cars,  plying  his  trade  at  all  hours  of  the 
day  and  night,  is  full  and  fair  on  the  road  to  criminality. 
Acquainted  with  the  worst  sections  of  the  city,  bohemian 
in  his  habits,  taught  in  the  games  and  vices  of  the  streets, 
and  frequently  away  from  home  the  entire  night,  his  moral 
nature  necessarily  becomes  warped  and  defective.  The 
night  work  of  the  messenger  boy  and  the  strange  sights 
and  sounds  which  he  encounters  leave  consequences  no  less 
demoralizing.  The  large  percentage  of  newsboys  and 
messenger  boys  in  our  juvenile  reformatories  should  be 
sufficient  warning  that  juvenile  dehnquency  can  not  be 
abolished  unless  child  labor  in  the  street  trades  is  also 
prohibited.  The  news  girl,  although  less  frequently 
found,  is  open  to  the  same  influences  and  soon  loses  her 


PREVENTION  OF  JUVENILE  DELINQUENCY     289 

native  modesty  by  becoming  familiar  with  the  men  who 
patronize  her  as  well  as  with  the  men  of  the  streets. 

The  right  to  employ  children  on  the  stage  should  be  care- 
fully regulated  and  prohibited  within  certain  Hmits.  Fur- 
thermore, children  suffering  from  cruelty  or  neglect  must 
be  cared  for,  otherwise  the  reaction  from  their  treatment 
will  arouse  their  antisocial  tendencies  and  send  them  to 
the  court  as  delinquents. 

2.   Education  of  Parents. 

Parents  are  invested  by  society  with  the  duty  of  caring 
for  their  children,  but  they  receive  little  previous  training 
for  this  most  important  and  delicate  task.  The  advent 
of  domestic  science  and  of  household  economy  is  now 
affording  our  girls  a  Httle  training  for  home  life,  but  does 
not  yet  touch  that  most  vital  point  —  the  proper  care  of 
children.  When  this  feature  is  introduced,  the  small  child 
will  be  the  gainer.  Our  boys  receive  no  training  of  this 
kind  whatsoever.  It  is  plain  from  the  evidence  of  our 
juvenile  courts  that  a  large  number  of  fathers  are  utterly 
ignorant  of  the  proper  methods  of  training  children.  These 
parents  need  advice  and  instruction.  They  need  to  know 
the  elements  of  American  citizenship,  the  requisites  of 
ordinary  law,  the  dangers  of  the  city,  and  its  temptations  for 
their  children.  They  require  a  better  knowledge  of  child 
nature  and  of  correct  methods  of  discipline.  The  solution 
of  the  problem  is  difficult,  however.  We  can  educate 
children  for  the  next  generation,  but  can  do  little  for  the 
parents  of  this  generation.  Still  the  settlements,  churches, 
missions,  and  other  organizations  among  the  poor  can, 
through  mothers'  meetings,  men's  clubs,  and  individual 
instruction,  accomplish  something.  Probation  and  truant 
officers  can  also  influence  parents  as  effectually  as  any 
other  agency,  and  their  efforts  should  be  utiHzed  in  this 
direction. 


290  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

Although  not  a  complete  list,  the  measures  urged  above 
are  the  most  important  ones  and  can  readily  be  subjected 
to  practical  application.  The  problem  of  the  prevention 
of  juvenile  delinquency  is  one  that  covers  the  entire  range 
of  constructive  philanthropy.  The  measures  of  reform 
which  will  solve  this  problem  w^ill  also  solve  many  others 
and  will  go  far  toward  the  establishment  of  healthful  social 
relations. 


BOOK  V 

THE  DEPENDENT  AND  NEGLECTED  CHILD 


CHAPTER   I 

the  dependent  and  neglected  child 

1.  The  Importance  op  the  Home. 

The  right  of  the  child  to  life,  health,  play,  freedom 
from  work,  opportunity,  and  a  chance  for  moral  develop- 
ment has  been  covered  in  the  preceding  chapters.  That 
society  must  secure  to  children  these  rights  is  a  principle 
of  the  present  philanthropic  propaganda.  The  nature 
of  the  task,  however,  differs  for  each  variety  of  need.  In 
all  cases  the  children  are  wards  of  the  state,  which  may  in- 
terfere with  private  arrangements  when  the  rights  of  the 
child  are  flagrantly  violated.  In  the  majority  of  cases 
the  state  merely  assumes  the  position  of  overseer  or  super- 
visor and  allows  parent  to  carry  on  the  work  of  properly 
providing  for  their  children.  Wherever  possible,  the  re- 
sponsibility of  the  parents  is  enforced  and  the  interference 
of  the  state  limited  to  the  insistence  that  parents  perform 
their  social  obUgations.  This  work  by  parents  must  be 
done  within  the  home.  The  home  is  an  institution  funda- 
mental to  our  civilization.  Its  preservation  must  be  rigidly 
guarded,  and  the  duties  taken  from  the  home  must  not 
be  so  numerous  as  to  lessen  the  cohesive  force  of  this  civ- 
ilizing power.  In  fact,  the  state  is  using  the  home  as  one 
of  its  means  of  achieving  further  progress.  Consequently 
any  action  which  interferes  with  the  sanctity  and  do- 
minion of  a  home  must  be  wisely  planned  and  must  not 
weaken  the  integrity  of  the  institution.  The  breaking 
up  of  a  home  is  a  serious  act  and  justifiable  only  under 

293 


294  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

exceptional  conditions.  Nevertheless,  the  rights  of  society 
are  paramount,  and  if  its  interests  will  be  plainly  served 
by  such  action,  then  the  step  is  right  and  expedient. 

The  problem  of  the  dependent  and  neglected  child  often 
becomes  the  question  of  the  re-formation  of  family  and 
home  ties.  The  state  may  be  compelled  to  take  upon 
itself  the  direct  duties  of  parent,  since  the  proper  parental 
authority  has  failed.  Furthermore,  instead  of  a  temporary 
removal  of  the  child,  he  may  be  permanently  secured 
against  the  jurisdiction  of  his  blood  relatives,  but  even  in 
taking  this  step  the  bond  of  parental  affection  must  not 
be  overlooked.  The  sacrifice  of  the  latter  may  outweigh 
the  advantages  of  separation.  Accordingly  the  various 
factors  in  the  problem  —  the  parent,  the  home,  and  the 
child  —  must  each  be  given  due  weight,  and  the  disposition 
of  a  case  should  be  determined  on  the  basis  of  the  relative 
importance  of  each  factor. 

2.  Types  of  Dependents. 

There  are  many  dependent  and  neglected  children  repre- 
senting numerous  types  and  forms  of  dependency.  One 
group  of  children  consists  of  those  who  are  crippled  or  de- 
formed from  birth.  Although  their  number  is  not  large, 
accommodations  for  their  advantage  are  usually  lacking  ; 
and  thus  they  become  a  grievous  burden  to  their  parents 
and  fail  to  receive  the  care  and  attention  which  they  merit. 
A  portion  are  curable,  or  may  at  least  be  made  partially 
self-supporting,  if  they  are  provided  with  the  proper  medi- 
cal and  educational  facilities.  Institutional  care  for  this 
class  is  undoubtedly  the  wisest  form  of  prescription. 

A  second  class  includes  illegitimate  children,  foundlings, 
and  abandoned  infants.  Society  has  very  unjustly  charged 
such  children  with  the  blame  of  their  ignoble  birth,  and 
their  entire  lives  have  been  spent  under  the  handicap  of 
such  a  terrible  injustice.     These  infants  deserve  every 


THE  DEPENDENT  AND  NEGLECTED  CHILD    295 

consideration  given  to  the  legitimate  child,  and  equal  pro- 
vision for  their  care  should  be  made.  Their  parents  must 
indeed  be  held  responsible  as  far  as  possible  and  a  burden 
be  placed  upon  them,  but  the  child  should  not  be  sacri- 
ficed because  of  another's  guilt.  The  French  experiment 
of  relieving  parents  of  responsibility  for  illegitimate  chil- 
dren proved  extremely  disastrous.  It  not  only  increased 
illegitimacy,  but  enormously  increased  the  number  of 
foundhngs  and  was  necessarily  abandoned.  In  the  United 
States  the  niunber  of  illegitimate  children  is  relatively 
small  and  the  number  of  foundlings  quite  insignificant,  ex- 
cept in  the  laTge  cities  where  shame  can  be  concealed  and 
where  poverty  often  pinches. 

A  large  number  of  children,  especially  in  our  industrial 
centers  and  in  the  congested  portions  of  our  cities,  can  not 
be  comfortably^  provided  for  by  their  parents.  Frequently 
the  mother  is  forced  to  spend  the  day  in  the  factory,  and 
her  children  are  either  neglected  or  placed  in  the  care  of 
a  small  daughter  —  a  ''child  mother."  Again,  among  the 
poor,  medical  attention  is  often  omitted  because  financial 
means  are  wanting,  and  accordingly  children  do  not  re- 
cover fully  from  disease  ;  scars,  traces,  and  minor  defects 
remain,  and  sometimes  more  serious  defects  permanently 
handicap  the  child.  Scarlet  fever,  which  is  especially 
severe  on  the  poor,  is  one  of  the  most  maHgnant  of  these 
diseases.  This  group  of  children  constitutes  a  semi- 
neglected  class,  and  the  neglect  frequently  leads  to  such 
conditions  of  subnormality  as  will  render  the  individual 
barely  self-supporting  on  his  reaching  maturity.  The 
day  nursery,  summer  outings,  playgrounds,  medical  in- 
spection of  the  schools,  and  in  some  cases  direct  assistance, 
tend  to  prevent  complete  dependence  and  partially  over- 
come the  natural  effects  of  neglect. 

The  largest  group  of  children  considered  in  this  class  are 
those  who  for  various  reasons  are  partially  or  completely 


296  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

dependent  upon  society.  Many  are  without  natural 
family  support,  owing  to  the  desertion  of  the  father,  and 
in  the  absence  of  the  latter  the  state  may  be  forced  to  pro- 
vide for  the  children.  Some  are  orphans,  but  if  part  of 
the  family  still  remains,  the  method  of  provision  will  de- 
pend upon  the  advisabiUty  of  keeping  the  remainder  of 
the  family  together.  Charitable  agencies  sometimes  quite 
properly  pension  a  widowed  mother  or  father  of  a  large 
family  when  investigation  proves  that  the  family  can  be 
reared  to  better  advantage  if  it  remains  united.  In  some 
cases  parents  are  temporarily  or  permanently  disabled, 
and  their  children  must  therefore  be  given  temporary 
relief. 

Cruelty  is  but  the  superlative  degree  of  neglect,  there- 
fore the  victims  of  neglect  and  of  cruelty  belong  to  the 
same  category.  The  neglected  child  is  one  for  whom 
parents  fail  to  care  or  provide  so  that  the  child  suffers 
from  actual  want  or  is  demoralized.  The  following  case 
occurring  in  New  York  City  illustrates  the  type.  Investi- 
gation by  the  New  York  Society  for  the  Prevention  of 
Cruelty  to  Children  disclosed  "  two  children,  aged  six  and 
four  years  respectively,  badly  neglected  by  a  drunken 
mother.  The  surroundings  were  filthy,  the  mother  almost 
hopelessly  intoxicated,  the  children  quite  nude,  and  a  sister 
of  the  mother  lay  dying  from  consumption  on  a  bed  of  rags 
near  by."  Refusal  of  the  father  to  turn  over  a  sufficient 
amount  of  his  regular  wages  to  the  mother  to  enable  her 
to  care  for  the  children  properly  also  constitutes  a  frequent 
cause  of  neglect.  The  laxity  of  parents  who  allow  children 
to  indulge  in  pernicious  associations,  to  beg,  frequent 
saloons  and  gambling  houses,  and  sleep  away  from  home, 
subjects  such  parents  to  the  charge  of  neglect  and  cruelty. 
The  grosser  forms  of  cruelty  usuallyJ:consist  of  beating 
and  similar  abuses  of  children.  Parents  often  frighten  their 
sons  by  excessive  corporal  punishment ;  the  latter  become 


THE  DEPENDENT  AND  NEGLECTED  CHILD     297 

refractory,  only  to  suffer  still  more  from  the  cruelty  of  the 
father.  Neither  the  wife  beater  nor  the  child  beater  has 
become  extinct.  Cruelty  often  drives  the  boy  away  from 
home,  but  being  without  friends  or  experience,  he  goes  from 
bad  to  worse  until  his  pitiable  state  may  finally  draw 
attention  to  himself  and  to  the  causes  of  his  misfortune. 
Such  cases  differ  from  pure  dependency  in  that,  not  only 
must  a  proper  disposition  be  made  of  the  child,  but  the 
parent  must  be  punished  for  his  offense. 

3.  Causes  of  Dependency. 

The  prevention  of  dependency  furnishes  one  of  the  most 
difficult  of  all  child  problems.  A  very  large  percentage 
of  dependency  is  at  present  uncontrollable.  A  radical 
reconstruction  of  social  relations  would  be  necessary  to 
prevent  its  regular  recurrence.  Hereditary  influences, 
unexpected  death  of  parent  or  natural  supporter,  industrial 
maladjustments,  sickness,  and  many  other  causes  of  de- 
pendency can  be  remedied  with  difficulty.  Nevertheless 
the  situation  is  not  hopeless,  and  much  dependency  among 
children  can  be  mitigated,  and  some  of  it  can  be  entirely 
prevented.  The  causes  differ  materially  from  the  causes 
of  dependency  among  adults.  Since  no  adequate  Amer- 
ican statistics  are  available,  no  detailed  study  of  causes 
can  be  given.  Warner  quotes  German  statistics  on  de- 
pendent children,^  but  the  figures,  which  were  compiled  by 
Bohmert,  are  now  more  than  fifteen  years  old  at  least. 
The  percentages,  however,  still  have  value.  According 
to  these  figures,  the  chief  causes  of  dependency  among 
13,000  children  were  distributed  as  follows  :  orphanage, 
38.75  per  cent ;  lack  of  work  on  part  of  guardian,  14.90 
sickness,  etc.,  11.88;  abandonment  by  guardian,  11.66 
imprisonment  of  guardian,  4.7 ;    abuse  and  neglect,  4.5 

1  Warner,  Amos,  American  Charities,  p.  43  of  First  Edition,  p.  54  of 
Revised  Edition. 


298  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

sickness  of  guardian,  4.34 ;  laziness  of  guardian,  3.49 ; 
drunkenness  of  guardian,  L54 ;  mental  or  physical  defect 
in  guardian,  1.74.  The  remaining  causes  are  of  minor 
importance.  According  to  Bohmert,  one  fourth  of  the  chil- 
dren are  dependent  owing  to  causes  controlled  by  their 
parents  or  guardians.  He  has,  however,  included  only 
the  more  palpable  culpability  of  parents,  omitting  lack 
of  work,  sickness,  and  of  course  orphanage.  To  a  large 
degree  lack  of  work  depends  on  the  inefficiency  of  the 
parent,  and  is  a  remediable  evil.  Furthermore  much 
sickness  could  be  avoided  by  the  exercise  of  a  little  more 
intelligence.  The  amount  of  unnecessary  dependency 
is  therefore  much  larger  than  the  estimate  given  above. 
Eventually  the  lessening  of  the  death  rate  through  the 
decrease  of  the  nmnber  of  accidents,  better  sanitation, 
the  elimination  of  certain  diseases  especially  prevalent 
among  the  poor,  and  a  lower  occupational  mortality  will 
decrease  the  aggregate  amount  of  orphanage.  Consid- 
erable time  ^vill,  however,  be  necessary  for  the  realization 
of  these  reforms. 

The  large  families  among  the  poor  are  an  additional 
cause  of  dependency.  Rountree  showed  that  in  York, 
England,  the  proportion  of  actual  poverty  due  to  the 
existence  of  large  families  was  22.16  per  cent.  The  death 
of  one  of  the  parents  in  such  cases  almost  necessarily  makes 
the  children  at  least  partially  dependent.  Frequently 
temporary  aid  in  the  home  is  sufficient  to  meet  such  needs, 
but  often  the  family  must  be  separated.  Excessive  re- 
production, coupled  with  precarious  economic  conditions, 
make  considerable  relief  necessary. 

The  number  of  dependent  children  is  closely  related  to 
the  prevaihng  relief  policy.  Certain  systems  foster  the 
increase  of  dependents,  while  others  as  faithfully  diminish 
their  number.  Unwise  philanthropy  undoubtedly  accen- 
tuates the  problem.     The  orphanage  and  institution  have 


THE  DEPENDENT  AND  NEGLECTED  CHILD     299 

not  reduced  dependency  to  a  minimum,  but  have  rather 
tended  to  prevent  the  greatest  possible  reduction.  The 
proportion  of  dependent  children  in  the  state  of  New  York, 
which  uses  the  institutional  method,  is  much  larger  than 
in  other  states  where  placing  out  methods  are  used.  How- 
ever, there  are  other  reasons  why  New  York  should  have 
an  unusually  large  number  of  dependent  children. 

Cruelty  and  alcoholism  are  allied  causes  of  dependency 
One  large  western  home-finding  society  reports  that  a 
majority  of  its  cases  are  at  least  partially  the  result  of 
alcoholism.  The  New  York  Society  for  the  Prevention 
of  Cruelty  to  Children  has  published  in  one  of  its  annual 
reports  the  following  statement :  "Reference  to  the  records 
of  the  society  during  the  entire  years  of  its  existence  would 
establish  beyond  all  controversy  the  fact  that  to  the  ex- 
cessive use  of  intoxicants  by  parents  is  largely  due  the 
great  neglect,  the  suffering,  and  grosser  forms  of  cruelty 
imposed  upon  childhood.  It  has  been  the  province  of  the 
Society  to  respond  to  constant  appeals  made  for  the  pro- 
tection of  children  against  drunken  and  brutal  parents."  ^ 
Drunkenness  easily  degenerates  into  brutalitj^  In  many 
cases  the  mother  is  an  offender  as  well  as  the  father.  In 
some  cities,  the  proportion  of  neglect  directly  attributable 
to  intemperance  is  much  smaller  than  that  credited  to  New 
York  City. 

Abnormal  family  conditions  play  an  important  part 
in  causing  neglect.  In  a  typical  city,  in  nearly  20  per 
cent  of  the  cases  the  parents  had  separated,  the  child  usually 
living  with  the  mother.  In  12  per  cent  the  child  lived 
with  the  father,  the  mother  being  dead  or  living  elsewhere  ; 
in  25  per  cent  the  mother  held  the  child,  the  father  being 
dead  or  having  abandoned  the  family ;  in  10  per  cent  of 
the  cases,  step-parents  complicated  matters;    and  a  small 

1  Annual  Report  of  New  York  Society  for  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to 
Children,  1908. 


300  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

percentage  of  children  were  entirely  abandoned.^  The 
desire  of  the  child  in  the  great  majority  of  cases  to  go  with 
the  mother  on  her  separation  from  the  father  indicates 
the  comparative  worthlessness  and  cruelty  of  many  fathers. 
Illegitimates  and  children  of  immoral  parents  are  often 
neglected,  and  in  one  large  city  about  50  per  cent  of  the 
neglected  children  receiving  public  care  had  been  deserted 
by  their  fathers.  Private  philanthropy,  however,  had 
charge  of  a  large  number  of  the  neglected  children  of  the 
city,  so  the  net  proportion  of  deserted  cases  was  much 
smaller.  ''Improper  guardianship,"  which  forms  the 
usual  charge  against  the  parents  of  neglected  children, 
besides  being  attributable  to  drunkenness,  abnormal 
family  relations,  and  child  desertion,  depends  upon  a  cruel 
disposition,  ignorance  of  the  temptations  which  beset 
children,  indifference,  and  extreme  selfishness. 

4.   Number  of  Dependent  Children. 

The  exact  number  of  dependent  and  neglected  children 
in  the  United  States  is  not  known,  as  statistics  are  not 
available  for  the  children  who  have  been  boarded  out  and 
placed  out.  The  number  of  children  in  institutions, 
however,  has  been  tabulated  by  the  federal  government. 
The  following  table  gives  the  number  of  children  in  such 
institutions  and  the  number  admitted  during  the  year 
1904,  in  the  United  States  and  the  most  densely  populated 
states. 

The  states  of  Indiana,  Missouri,  New  Jersey,  and  Mary- 
land each  held  in  their  orphanages  and  children's  homes 
more  than  two  thousand  children.  The  number  of  in- 
mates in  the  remaining  states  was  much  less.  These 
statistics  show  a  tremendous  disparity  among  the  states 
as  to  the  proportion  of  children  in  homes  of  the  kind  desig- 

*  Annual  Report  of  Juvenile  Court,  Kansas  City,  1908. 


THE  DEPENDENT  AND  NEGLECTED  CHILD     301 


Orphanages  and  Children's  Homes 


Statb 

No.  Inmates 
(1904) 

No.  Ad- 
mitted 
(1904) 

No.  Inmates 
PER  100,000 

POPXJLATION 

United  States 

New  York        

Pennsylvania 

Ohio 

Illinois 

California 

Massachusetts 

District  of  Columbia     .     .     . 

92,289 

24,907 
10,418 
7,670 
5,245 
4,680 
3,953 
967 

70,825 
18,171 

4,786 
6,292 
7,587 
3,404 
5,443 
606 

113.6 
317.3 
153.6 
175.1 
99.4 
290.8 
129. 
321.4 

nated.  In  several  of  the  western  states  the  number  and 
proportion  of  institution  children  is  quite  negligible.  In 
these,  either  the  dependent  children  are  not  largely  repre- 
sented in  institutions  or  the  actual  number  is  much  smaller. 
Both  contingencies  are  probable  and  must  be  considered 
in  an  estimate  of  the  total  number  of  dependent  children. 
Some  states  use  the  institution  more  extensively  than  do 
others,  and  their  statistics  therefore  create  false  impres- 
sions. New  York  contains  in  its  orphanages  and  homes 
more  than  one  fourth  of  the  children  found  in  such  insti- 
tutions throughout  the  United  States.  It  follows  the 
District  of  Columbia  with  the  second  largest  proportion  of 
inmates  per  given  unit  of  population.  In  several  states  the 
children  pass  rapidly  through  the  institutions,  and  therefore 
the  number  admitted  during  the  year  is  larger  than  the 
number  remaining  at  its  close.  Setting  aside  these  modi- 
fying factors,  we  find  that  more  than  92,000  children  were 
in  such  institutions  at  the  close  of  the  year  1904.  In  addi- 
tion to  this  a  considerable  number  of  children  were  at  the 


I  Benevolent  Institutions. 
1904,  pp.  26  ff. 


Special  Report  of  Bureau  of  the  Census, 


302  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

same  time  imiiates  of  other  institutions.  In  "Permanent 
Homes"  for  adults  and  children  the  number  enumerated 
was  5625,  New  York  and  Texas  having  each  more  than 
700.  The  movement  of  children  through  these  homes 
was,  however,  almost  as  rapid  as  the  movement  though 
the  orphanages.  The  "Temporary  Homes"  form  another 
class  of  institutions.  These  contained  8124  children, 
although  the  mmiber  of  admissions  during  the  year  aggre- 
gated 23,032.  The  average  stay  of  each  child  was  accord- 
ingly a  little  more  than  four  months,  while  the  average  stay 
in  the  other  institutions  was  somewhat  more  than  one 
year.  New  York  led  with  2949  inmates,  and  10,404 
admissions. 

The  aggregate  number  of  children  in  institutions  on 
December  31,  1904,  was  106,038.  Among  this  number 
are  included  infants  in  foundling  asylums,  illegitimate 
children,  and  a  small  number  of  incorrigibles  and  cripples. 
With  very  little  variation,  however,  the  figure  given  repre- 
sents the  sum  total  of  dependent  children  in  institutions 
in  the  United  States.  The  great  disparity  in  proportions 
among  the  various  states  indicates  that  many  of  them 
have  disposed  of  their  dependent  children  in  other  ways. 
The  boarding  and  placing  out  system  accounts  for  thou- 
sands of  such  children,  but  the  exact  number  is  not  known. 
According  to  estimates  made,  there  are  at  the  present 
time  about  50,000  children  in  foster  homes  or  being  boarded 
at  the  cost  of  some  society  or  other  agency.  The  total  num- 
ber of  dependent  children  thus  rises  to  an  aggregate  of 
more  than  150,000.  Some  of  the  neglected  children  fall 
into  the  hands  of  placing-out  societies  and  of  institutions, 
and  are  therefore  enumerated  in  the  foregoing  figures.  A 
considerable  class  of  neglected  children,  however,  do  not 
figure  in  the  statistical  tables.  They  are  the  less  serious 
cases,  it  is  true;  nevertheless  they  are  not  living  under 
normal  conditions  and  are  suffering  from  the  handicap  of 
uncertain  training  and  precarious  family  fife. 


CHAPTER   II 
principles  of  child  saving 

1.  Placing  Out  vs.  the  Institution. 

Social  workers  were  long  divided  into  two  camps  on  the 
question  of  the  proper  method  of  caring  for  dependent 
children.  One  party  advocated  the  institutional  plan 
and  favored  the  orphanage,  the  cliildren's  home,  the  per- 
manent home,  and  industrial  schools  where  children  should 
be  brought  up  to  adult  life.  Without  natural  supporters 
they  would,  it  was  beheved,  prosper  better  in  some  insti- 
tution where  discipline,  education,  moral  instruction,  good 
environment,  physical  training,  and  other  advantages 
could  be  provided.  This  party  pointed  out  the  defects 
of  the  placing-out  system,  and  the  unsatisfactory  results 
that  the  latter  formerly  achieved.  The  advocates  of  the 
placing-out  system,  on  the  other  hand,  insisted  on  the 
absence  of  real  family  life  in  the  institution,  they  pointed 
out  the  manifold  evils  of  aggregation,  of  the  absence  of 
individuation,  and  of  the  unnatural  conditions  and  sur- 
roundings of  an  institution.  They  claimed  great  advan- 
tages for  the  home  and  for  its  favorable  moral  environment, 
and  contended  that  life  away  from  the  temptations  and 
pitfalls  of  a  large  city  and  outside  of  an  institution  would 
yield  the  best  results.  Even  the  temporary  home  was 
opposed  by  the  most  radical  advocates  of  the  placing-out 
plan. 

The   contending  parties  gradually  weakened  in  their 

303 


304  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

opposition  to  each  other,  and  finally  sought  to  harmonize 
their  differences.  Some  good  in  institutions  was  discov- 
ered, and  the  value  of  the  placing-out  system  was  definitely 
recognized.  In  1899  the  National  Conference  of  Charities 
and  Correction  adopted  a  report  which  ended  the  strife 
and  set  forth  the  principles  of  child  saving  on  a  permanent 
basis.  These  principles  are  restated  in  the  report  of  1906, 
and  an  elaborate  exposition  has  been  pubUshed  in  the 
report  of  the  White  House  Conference  in  1909.^ 

2.  Pbinciples  of  Child  Saving. 

The  principles  concerning  which  there  is  now  substantial 
agreement  are  the  following  :  — 

(1)  Preservation  of  home  ties  wherever  possible. 

(2)  The  paramount  importance  of  preventive  work. 

(3)  The  superiority  of  the  foster  home  as  a  substitute  for 
the  natural  home. 

(4)  The  use  of  the  institution  for  temporary  purposes 
only,  except  for  feeble-minded,  epileptic,  and  certain 
crippled,  deformed,  and  otherwise  incurable  children. 

(5)  The  incorporation  of  child-caring  agencies. 

(6)  The  adoption  of  the  cottage  plan  for  institutions. 

(7)  State  inspection  of  the  work  of  child-caring  agencies. 

(8)  Education  in  institutions  as  part  of  the  pubhc  edu- 
cational system. 

(9)  The  keeping  of  adequate  records. 

(10)  Cooperation  among  child-caring  agencies. 

(11)  Undesirability  of  legislation  by  states  so  as  to  han- 
dicap the  placing  out  of  children  from  other  states. 

(12)  The  need  of  a  national  association  on  the  care  of 
dependent  children. 

(13)  A  federal  Children's  Bureau. 

^  See  National  Conference  of  Charities  and  Correction,  1906,  pp. 
87-89,  also  the  Survey  for  February  20,  1909. 


PRINCIPLES  OF  CHILD  SAVING  305 


3.   The  Foster  Home. 

The  value  of  the  home  tie  can  not  be  too  strongly  em- 
phasized. Its  severance  may  work  untold  hardships  when 
a  slightly  different  form  of  aid  might  serve  to  tide  over 
a  temporary  difficulty.  When  the  trouble  is  not  perma- 
nent, the  home  should  rarely  be  broken  up.  Every  reason- 
able effort  should  be  made  to  keep  together  the  family  of 
a  worthy  and  willing  widow  or  widower.  A  certain  class 
of  homes,  however,  can  not  remain  unmolested.  This 
class  is  usually  the  concern  of  the  Society  for  the  Preven- 
tion of  Cruelty  to  Children.  The  gross  neglect  and  cruelty 
cases  often  require  that  the  child  be  permanently  removed 
from  the  home.  Dr.  E.  T.  Devine  says,  *'If  children  are 
removed  because  their  parents  are  morally  unfit  guardians 
for  them,  this  removal  should  be  imconditional.  There 
should  be  no  hesitation  in  transferring  the  legal  guar- 
dianship in  such  cases."  1  While  the  burden  of  proof  to 
show  parental  incompetency  rests  upon  the  state,  the 
latter  has  the  undoubted  right  to  interfere  with  the  natural 
home  relations  when  it  becomes  evident  that  the  children 
are  the  victims  of  violently  abnormal  treatment.  Board- 
ing out  may  be  necessary  if  the  number  of  desirable  free 
homes  is  limited.  Much  of  the  opposition  to  the  placing- 
out  system  was  occasioned  by  the  lax  methods  employed 
by  home-finding  societies.  In  former  years  a  number 
of  the  eastern  societies  regularly  sent  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  their  dependent  children  to  western  states,  and 
owing  to  the  distance  from  the  central  offices,  the  children 
on  the  farms  were  inadequately  supervised.  The  cruel 
and  abusive  treatment  of  the  children  was  in  many  cases 
unknown  to  the  society,  and  consequently  the  percentage 
of  failures  to  secure  good  results  was  excessive.  The 
fault,  however,  was  not  an  inherent  part  of  the  system. 

1  Principles  of  Relief,  p.  103. 


306  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

It  has  been  remedied  by  adequate  organization  and  suffi- 
cient inspection  and  supervision. 

The  well-regulated  home  being  usually  regarded  as  the 
best  medium  in  which  to  develop  the  growing  boy  or  girl, 
the  most  advisable  step  in  connection  with  the  dependent 
child  is  to  secure  for  him  some  carefully  selected  foster 
home.  In  the  home  the  child  has  the  advantage  of  con- 
tact with  his  foster  parents  and  with  his  playmates  and 
is  in  touch  with  wholesome  life.  The  normal  child  must 
meet  persons  and  children  of  all  ages.  Otherwise  his  com- 
plete development  can  not  be  secured.  When  placed  in 
the  home  the  child  enjoys  the  prospect  of  these  advantages, 
but  an  institution  is  necessarily  surrounded  by  artificial 
conditions,  and  therefore  can  not  provide  the  training  which 
natural  contacts  make  possible.  The  ultimate  goal  is  to 
secure  the  adoption  of  the  child  by  the  family,  but  if  that 
is  not  possible,  to  have  him  placed  in  a  free  home  subject 
to  regular  supervision  by  the  home-finding  society.  Child- 
less couples  are  frequently  anxious  to  adopt  one  or  more 
promising  children,  and  partiality  of  parents  toward  par- 
ticular children  is  not  likely  in  such  cases.  The  right  to 
remove  the  child  placed  on  probation  in  a  family  protects 
the  children  who  have  been  unfortunately  located.  Sim- 
ilar rights  of  rejection  allow  would-be  foster  parents  to 
release  undesirable  children. 

d:.  The  Cottage  Plan. 

The  cottage  plan  is  as  desirable  for  institutions  caring 
for  dependent  children  as  for  those  containing  juvenile 
delinquents.  As  the  merits  of  the  system  have  been  dis- 
cussed in  a  previous  chapter,  no  repetition  of  the  argument 
is  necessary.  In  view  of  the  fact  that  more  than  100,000 
children  are  at  the  present  time  located  in  institutions 
throughout  the  United  States,  the  adoption  of  the  cottage 
plan  is  an  important  consideration.     The  large  majority 


PRINCIPLES  OF  CHILD  SAVING  307 

of  institutions  are  found  within  city  limits,  and  but  a  small 
proportion  of  all  our  institutions  have  adopted  the  cottage 
plan.  Although  the  desirability  of  the  system  is  fully 
recognized  among  social  workers,  the  financial  condition 
of  institutions  has  prevented  them  from  introducing  the 
cottage  system  as  rapidly  as  desirable.  To  meet  this 
shortcoming  it  is  the  more  necessary  for  home-finding 
societies  to  exert  themselves  to  the  utmost  to  find  suitable 
homes  for  the  dependent  children.  Furthermore,  if  the 
pubhc  reahzed  more  fully  the  value  of  the  cottage  plan,  the 
necessary  funds  for  its  installation  might  be  forthcoming. 

5.  State  Supervision  and  Incorporation  of  Pri- 
vate Agencies. 

The  work  of  private  philanthropy  is  being  increasingly 
regarded  as  properly  subject  to  the  supervision  of  the  state. 
This  appUes  to  hospitals,  dispensaries,  homes,  etc.,  as  well 
as  to  institutions  and  agencies  caring  for  dependent  chil- 
dren. In  order  that  private  charity  may  meet  more  rigid 
requirements,  state  inspection  of  its  work  is  advisable. 
In  most  states,  pubHc  authority  provides  to  some  extent 
for  dependent  children  and  private  societies  are  merely 
covering  part  of  the  field.  State  inspection  guarantees 
a  higher  degree  of  efficiency  among  these  societies,  and 
tends  to  unify  the  work.  Even  strong  private  societies 
have  in  some  cases  enhanced  the  efficiency  of  the  more 
doubtful  philanthropic  agencies  by  refusing  to  cooperate 
with  the  latter  or  by  keeping  on  file  a  record  of  their 
relative  efficiency.  A  number  of  states,  notably  New 
York,  Illinois,  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  and  Minnesota  have 
estabfished  state  inspection  of  the  child-caring  and  the 
placing-out  work  of  private  societies.  In  Indiana  a  very 
progressive  law  recently  passed  requires  every  private 
child-caring  agency  to  secure  an  annual  license  from  the 
board  of  state  charities. 


308  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

The  incorporation  of  child-caring  agencies  is  desirable 
in  order  to  increase  the  responsibihty  of  such  societies  and 
to  insure  for  them  the  confidence  of  the  public.  Philan- 
thropic men  refuse  to  give  money  to  charities  of  doubtful 
efficiency,  and  many  of  the  most  prominent  agencies  were 
incorporated  before  legal  compulsion  was  considered. 
However,  numerous  small  societies  of  uncertain  standing 
would  probably  discontinue  if  incorporation  were  made 
legally  obfigatory.  A  greater  measure  of  control  over 
such  charities  would  also  be  realized  and  their  general 
efficiency  enhanced. 

6.    Cooperation. 

Passing  over  the  questions  of  education  and  the  keep- 
ing of  adequate  records,  the  value  of  cooperation  among 
child-saving  societies  can  not  be  too  strongly  emphasized. 
Hard  and  fast  fines  between  dependent  and  definquent 
children  are  no  longer  favored.  The  National  Conference 
of  Charities  and  Correction  discusses  them  under  a  single 
head.  The  essential  unity  of  the  problems  of  dependency 
and  delinquency  is  now  recognized  and  the  functions  of  the 
juvenile  courts  are  being  very  properly  expanded.  Fur- 
thermore, greater  cooperation  between  home-finding  and 
aid  societies  and  societies  taking  charge  of  cruelty  cases 
is  desirable.  So,  too,  institutions  could  make  better  use 
of  the  societies  and  could  use  them  for  the  purpose  of 
placing  out  their  children.  The  disinclination  of  some 
institutions  to  give  up  their  children  is  a  bar  to  such  co- 
operation. One  New  York  City  home  for  destitute  chil- 
dren stipulates  in  advance  that  no  child  will  be  received 
for  less  than  a  year,  although  few  children  should  be  per- 
mitted to  remain  that  period  of  time  in  any  orphanage 
or  home  for  dependent  children. 

The  most  significant  recent  movement  in  the  direction 
of  cooperation  was  the  estabfishment  in  Philadelphia  in 


PRINCIPLES  OF  CHILD  SAVING  309 

1907  of  a  children's  bureau  by  the  joint  action  of  the  Chil- 
dren's Aid  Society  of  Pennsylvania  and  the  Seybert  In- 
stitution for  Poor  Boys  and  Girls.  In  1908  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Society  to  Protect  Children  from  Cruelty  joined  the 
others  in  the  work  of  the  bureau.  The  management  of 
the  bureau  is  vested  in  a  joint  committee  of  six  persons, 
the  president  and  secretary  or  superintendent  of  each 
agency  being  selected  for  this  purpose.  This  committee 
supervises  the  work  of  the  bureau.  A  superintendent 
is  placed  in  immediate  charge  of  the  apphcations,  and  has 
control  of  the  agents.  This  joint  bureau  makes  it  pos- 
sible to  refer  each  case  at  once  to  the  particular  agency 
best  prepared  to  handle  the  problem.  Duplication  of 
effort  and  the  referral  of  cases  from  one  societ}^  to  another 
is  thus  avoided.  In  this  instance  three  societies  of  differ- 
ent character,  and  to  some  extent  of  different  purpose, 
although  performing  much  identical  work,  have  wisely 
hit  upon  a  plan  of  cooperation  which  greatly  facilitates 
their  work  and  enhances  their  efficiency  in  child  saving. 
Very  successful  cooperation  is  being  carried  on  in  Boston 
where  seven  child-caring  agencies  use  identical  record 
blanks  and  work  together  in  other  ways. 

In  some  cities  temporary  homes  for  children,  orphan 
homes,  and  the  board  of  education  have  cooperated  faith- 
fully with  child-saving  societies  and  with  the  juvenile 
court  for  the  purpose  of  assisting  in  the  disposition  of 
juvenile  delinquents,  and  especially  for  the  placing  of  de- 
pendent and  neglected  children.  In  Kansas  City  an 
institutional  church  maintains  a  temporary  home  for 
neglected  children  and  cooperates  directly  with  the  agencies 
having  immediate  charge  of  the  children.  Denomina- 
tional jealousies  and  the  fear  that  children  will  be  placed 
with  foster  parents  professing  antagonistic  religions  are 
among  the  obstacles  to  better  cooperation  between  insti- 
tutions and  home-finding  societies.     The  essential  prin- 


310  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

ciples  and  methods  of  child  saving  being  agreed  upon, 
these  various  agencies  should  be  able  to  yield  a  maximum  of 
good  results. 

7.  Children  in  Almshouses. 

A  principle  of  action  generally  accepted  but  still  seriously 
violated  in  actual  practice  in  many  places  is  the  unde- 
sirability  of  sheltering  children  in  almshouses.  The  bru- 
tality of  the  custom  of  placing  children  in  poorhouses 
became  so  evident  that  other  accommodations  have  been 
provided  for  them  in  the  great  majority  of  cases.  In  many 
of  the  country  almshouses  little  children  may,  however,  be 
found  even  now.  A  recent  investigation  of  Missouri 
almshouses  showed  that  in  more  than  one  third  of  the 
entire  number,  children  were  being  maintained.  Several 
of  our  largest  cities  also  allow  children  to  remain  in  such 
houses,  but  frequently  these  children  are  feeble-minded 
or  otherwise  slightly  defective.  Inadequate  facilities  for 
the  custody  of  the  idiotic  and  feeble-minded  have  com- 
pelled many  children  of  these  classes  to  suffer  the  neglect 
which  accompanies  their  life  in  the  almshouse.  Although 
no  children  of  any  kind  should  be  allowed  in  any  of  our 
almshouses,  the  objection  to  infants  under  two  years  of 
age  is  less  serious  than  that  to  children  of  considerable 
mental  advancement.  The  latter  are  almost  sure  to  suffer 
seriously  from  their  association  with  the  degenerates  con- 
gregated in  an  almshouse. 

8.  Defective  Children. 

The  principles  of  child  saving  as  outlined  above  do  not 
apply  to  feeble-minded,  idiotic,  epileptic,  and  incurably 
diseased  children,  who  should  be  given  permanent  insti- 
tutional care.  The  perpetuation  of  a  bad  heredity  must 
be  checked,  and  the  helplessness  of  the  children  makes 
special  care  advisable.     Such  principles  as  tend  to  facilitate 


PRINCIPLES  OF  CHILD  SAVING  311 

the  work  of  agencies  dealing  with  this  class  of  cases  are, 
however,  appHcable  here,  and  the  cottage  system  is  equally 
desirable  for  institutions  for  defectives.  The  problem 
of  the  defective  child  does  not  fall  within  the  province 
of  this  book,  and  therefore  can  only  receive  casual  men- 
tion here. 

The  principles  and  methods  of  child  saving  center  about 
the  fundamental  fact  that  the  interests  of  the  child  are 
paramount.  Adequate  care  for  children  is  the  most  effec- 
tive form  of  preventive  work.  The  child  of  to-day  becomes 
the  useful  citizen  or  the  adult  dependent  or  delinquent 
of  to-morrow.  The  status  and  conditions  of  future  society 
are  contingent  upon  our  present  methods  of  providing  for 
our  children.  The  importance  of  the  home  as  an  insti- 
tution surmounts  the  value  of  a  child,  but  the  children 
of  any  particular  home  are  to  be  preferred  to  the  continua- 
tion of  that  home.  The  child  rather  than  the  parent  is 
the  proper  object  of  consideration.  The  child  is  the  man 
in  the  making,  and  it  is  work  well  worth  doing  well. 


CHAPTER   III 
methods  of  child  saving.    private 

1.  The  Children's  Aid  Society. 

Although  pubHc  agencies  have  in  most  states  made 
some  provision  for  dependent  children,  the  bulk  of  the 
work  has  been  accomplished  by  private  organizations  of 
various  description.  Aid  and  home-finding  societies  have 
been  organized  in  a  majority  of  the  different  states.  They 
are  committed  to  the  placing-out  principle ;  hence  a  chief 
feature  of  their  work  consists  in  finding  suitable  homes 
for  the  children  placed  under  their  care.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  prohibition  of  placing  children  in  almshouses  has 
resulted  in  the  improper  use  of  aid  societies  as  a  depository 
for  dependent  children.  The  societies  no  longer  compete 
with  public  charity,  but  are  used  by  public  officials  as  a 
necessary  part  of  charitable  organization. 

The  typical  aid  society  is  an  undenominational  organi- 
zation of  private  philanthropy,  and  ranks  as  the  most 
scientific  in  method  of  the  child-saving  agencies  of  a  com- 
munity. It  is  controlled  by  a  board  of  directors  usually 
representing  the  principal  contributors  to  the  funds  of  the 
society.  A  public  account  of  their  stewardship  is  annually 
given,  contributions  being  entirely  voluntary.  The  work- 
ing force  of  the  society  consists  of  the  secretary  or  super- 
intendent, placing-out  and  visiting  agents,  some  of  whom 
may  reside  in  distant  states  in  case  the  society  transports 
some  of  its  charges  to  such  states.  Many  of  the  societies 
are  equipped  with  temporary  homes  for  the  housing  of  the 

312 


METHODS  OF  CHILD  SAVING.    PRIVATE      313 

homeless  and  dependent  children.  Even  in  the  more 
antagonistic  societies,  the  opposition  to  the  institution 
has  collapsed  sufficiently  to  pave  the  way  for  the  use  of 
the  temporary  home. 

2.   Guiding  Principles. 

The  principles  which  govern  the  activities  of  the  chil- 
dren's aid  societies  vary  in  different  places.  In  the  larg- 
est cities  the  needs  are  so  extensive  that  a  great  variety 
of  labors  is  undertaken.  This  is  especially  true  of  the 
New  York  Society.  The  scope  of  its  work  is  not  at  all 
confined  to  the  task  of  caring  for  dependent  children,  and 
in  addition  to  placing  out,  many  other  forms  of  philan- 
thropic work  are  undertaken.  ''The  fundamental  prin- 
ciple of  the  society  and  its  governing  motive  is  that  of 
'  self-help '  —  of  teaching  children  how  to  help  themselves. 
It  also  advocates  that  the  '  f armer^s  home '  is  the  best  pos- 
sible place  to  shelter  and  rear  the  orphan,  or  outcast  child, 
far  better  than  any  asylum  or  the  best  managed  public 
institution."  ^  Accordingly  it  has  sent  large  numbers 
of  children  to  western  states,  available  room  not  having 
been  found  in  the  East  for  all  of  the  children  to  be  cared 
for. 

The  stated  principles  of  the  Pennsylvania  Children's 
Aid  Society  are  more  detailed,  and  typify  the  fundamentals 
of  a  large  number  of  these  societies.  They  are  as  follows  : 
"We  are  trying  to  accomplish  four  things:  1st,  to  keep 
in  our  office  information  concerning  every  child-caring  in- 
stitution in  the  city,  and  a  list  of  private  family  homes, 
both  in  the  city  and  surrounding  country,  where  children 
can  be  received  and  cared  for,  so  that  we  may  know  at  any 
time  and  in  any  case  of  child-need  just  what  can  be  done. 
2d,  to  use  existing  institutions  and  create  no  new  ones. 
3d,  to   scatter  children   into   private   homes  and   small 

»  Report  of  the  New  York  Children's  Aid  Society,  1908. 


314  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

institutions  rather  than  to  congregate  them  into  large  ones. 
4th,  to  put  the  support  of  a  child  upon  its  legal  guardians 
whenever  possible."  ^  Some  of  the  societies,  instead  of 
erecting  their  own  temporary  homes,  have  been  able  to 
cooperate  with  institutions  which  allow  them  temporary 
lodging  for  their  charges.  The  best  societies  strive  to 
keep  dependent  children  in  their  own  homes  or  with  their 
natural  supporters  wherever  such  action  is  practicable 
and  expedient. 

3.  Work  of  the  New  York  Society. 

The  actual  work  accomplished  in  no  case  excels  the  fine 
record  of  the  New  York  Society,  which  was  founded  in 
1853.  Previously  to  1908  it  placed  26,268  orphans  and 
deserted  children  in  family  homes  in  the  country.  It 
provided  situations  at  wages  in  the  country  for  26,889 
older  boys  and  girls,  and  returned  7731  runaway  children 
to  their  parents.  It  also  assisted  poor  persons,  num- 
bering 46,025,  mostly  children,  to  reach  friends  and  em- 
ployment in  the  West.  The  work  accomplished  and  the 
variety  of  its  labors  during  the  year  1908  are  signified  by 
the  following  statistics,  which  are  given  in  some  detail  be- 
cause they  indicate  not  only  the  kind  of  aid  needed  by 
children,  but  also  because  they  show  the  emphasis  placed 
by  the  society  upon  the  different  forms  of  aid  and  relief. 
During  the  year  12,639  children  were  enrolled  in  its  in- 
dustrial schools  ;  10,144  were  given  relief  in  their  homes  ; 
8248  boys  and  girls  were  sheltered  in  its  lodging  houses  ; 
1270  attended  the  farm  school ;  8945  persons  were  given 
an  outing  varying  from  one  to  four  weeks ;  6649  women 
and  children  received  single  day  outings ;  685  orphan 
children  were  permanently  placed  in  homes ;  862  chil- 
dren were  placed  in  homes  at  wages ;  865  boys  and  girls 
with  their  parents  were  assisted  to  emigrate  ;  528  children 

^  Report  of  the  Pennsylvania  Children's  Aid  Society,  1908. 


METHODS  OF  CHILD  SAVING.    PRIVATE      315 

were  returned  to  their  relatives ;  686  homeless  mothers 
and  children  were  given  shelter ;  and  2334  children  were 
treated  in  the  Sick  Children's  Mission. 

In  the  Society's  industrial  schools  work  was  carried  on 
in  classes  studying  the  following  subjects  :  cobbling,  car- 
pentry, basketry,  chair  caning,  cooking,  dressmaking, 
sewing,  iron  and  wire  bending,  millinery,  embroidery, 
embossing,  designing,  and  pyrography.  Both  day  and 
night  schools  were  conducted.  Four  lodging  houses  for 
homeless  boys  were  established,  and  by  means  of  coopera- 
tion with  the  municipal  lodging  house  and  private  charities, 
boys  and  young  men  under  twenty-one  years  of  age  were 
provided  for  temporarily  so  as  to  avoid  the  contact  with 
older  vagrants.  One  of  the  happiest  forms  of  labor  was 
the  sending  of  the  ailing  children  and  their  mothers  to  the 
health  home  on  the  ocean  beach.  Receiving  stations 
were  opened,  each  equipped  with  physician  and  nurse 
detailed  to  discover  the  most  needy  children  and  order 
their  transportation  to  the  home. 

4.   Placing  Out. 

The  most  important  work  of  the  average  children's  aid 
society  consists  of  finding  homes  for  its  wards.  The 
method  of  disposal,  however,  is  not  uniform,  and  leads  to 
the  frequent  use  of  the  society  by  public  charities,  private 
institutions,  and  other  charitable  agencies  for  the  disposal 
of  the  children  under  their  care.  It  may  become  the 
placing-out  machine  used  in  common  by  the  other  forms 
of  organized  charity.  Children  may  be  placed  with  fam- 
iHes  or  individuals  under  one  of  three  conditions,  —  in- 
dentured, boarded  out,  or  placed  out  in  free  homes.  The 
last  is  the  most  desirable,  provided  a  suitable  family  home 
can  be  obtained.  The  best  homes,  according  to  Homer 
Folks,  are  those  in  which  children  are  grown  up  and  gone, 
but  where  the  child  will  be  received  as  a  member  of  the 


316  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

family,  and  those  in  which  no  children  have  appeared  but 
one  or  more  are  earnestly  desired.  Experienced  foster 
parents  are  likely  to  be  more  successful,  but  the  child  in 
the  home  of  the  childless  is  certain  to  receive  ample  atten- 
tion. The  child  who  is  added  to  a  home  in  which  there 
are  other  children  is  often  discriminated  against,  and  this 
can  only  be  discovered  by  careful  supervision. 

In  order  to  find  a  suitable  home  it  is  necessary  to  ask 
for  applications  for  children  or  to  find  homes  willing  to 
receive  them.  Many  societies  constantly  receive  appli- 
cations and  only  need  to  consider  their  merits.  Appli- 
cants should  be  required  to  make  detailed  statements  in 
regard  to  the  pertinent  features  of  their  home  and  home 
life.  Among  the  questions  which  they  should  be  required 
to  answer  are  the  following  :  occupation;  financial  status  ; 
if  a  farmer,  size  and  ownership  of  farm ;  distance  from 
church  or  Sunday  school ;  distance  from  school ;  con- 
ditions within  the  home ;  general  environmental  condi- 
tions ;  purpose  in  regard  to  the  child ;  proposed  social 
status  of  the  child  ;  sleeping  accommodations  ;  nationality 
and  age  of  applicants,  their  habits,  character,  social  con- 
nections, their  treatment  of  employees,  and  the  number 
of  children.  A  list  of  about  fifty  questions  is  usually 
required.  The  answers  often  indicate  the  uselessness  of 
further  investigation,  especially  when  they  convey  un- 
favorable impressions.  The  applicant  is  required  to  give 
a  number  of  references,  and  persons  familiar  with  the 
conditions  of  the  applicant  are  the  recipients  of  inquiries. 
Furthermore,  agents  are  usually  sent  out  to  interview  the 
applicants  in  their  homes  and  to  collect  such  other  informa- 
tion as  may  seem  necessary  or  expedient. 

A  large  number  of  children  are  not  adapted  to  certain 
homes,  and  must  be  replaced  before  securing  a  satisfactory 
location.  This  can  only  be  avoided  by  a  most  careful 
selection  of  the  initial  home.     Success  depends  upon  tern- 


METHODS  OF  CHILD  SAVING.    PRIVATE       317 

peramental  and  religious  considerations  as  well  as  upon 
the  physical  and  moral  fitness  of  the  home.  As  much  as 
possible  children  should  be  placed  with  families  of  similar 
religious  tendencies.  The  child  who  is  old  enough  to  have 
received  religious  training  particularly  requires  this  mode 
of  disposition.  The  small  children,  however,  are  not  torn 
from  any  denominational  bias  and  therefore  not  injured 
by  being  placed  with  families  of  different  religious  belief 
from  that  of  their  parents.  Denominational  considera- 
tions are  not  the  most  important  ones,  and  must  yield 
when  the  general  welfare  of  the  child  is  at  stake.  To  be 
placed  out  in  a  good  home  where  some  other  religion  is 
taught  is  far  superior  to  being  placed  in  a  doubtful  home 
that  may  satisfy  the  religious  requirements  of  some  in- 
tolerant agent  or  institution.  Good  homes  rather  than 
creed  form  the  child's  character  and  develop  correct  morals. 

A  second  consideration  requiring  precaution  is  the  se- 
lection of  a  child  adapted  to  the  particular  family  home. 
The  physical  appearance  of  the  child  may  affect  the  preju- 
dices of  the  family.  Likewise  the  type  of  mind  may  be 
such  as  to  make  the  new  relation  unpleasant  for  both 
parties.  Temperamental  harmony  is  needed  to  insure 
success.  Foster  parents  may  be  successful  with  one  type 
of  mind  and  utter  failures  with  another.  Even  before  the 
child  is  placed  on  trial  with  the  family,  these  considerations 
should  be  emphasized  so  as  to  avoid  unnecessary  removals 
from  family  to  family.  Parents  should,  if  possible,  see  the 
prospective  child  before  he  leaves  the  child  saving  agency. 
This  would  tend  to  lessen  delay  and  misfits. 

The  third  step  in  the  disposition  of  the  child  is  that  of 
placing  him  in  his  newly  secured  home.  The  head  of  the 
home  in  which  the  child  is  placed  usually  signs  a  written 
agreement  in  which  he  promises  to  treat  the  child  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  standards  required  by  the  society  or 
agency.     Among   these   requirements   we   generally   find 


318  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

the  following  :  to  treat  him  kindly  and  as  a  member  of  the 
family,  to  cause  him  to  attend  church  and  Sunday  school, 
to  provide  him  with  a  pubHc  school  education,  to  teach 
him  an  occupation  so  as  to  make  him  self-supporting,  to 
give  him  ample  clothing  both  for  week  days  and  Sundays, 
and  to  give  him  proper  food  and  suitable  medical  attend- 
ance. These  agreements  can  be  canceled  by  the  child- 
saving  agency  whenever  it  deems  it  necessary  for  the 
welfare  of  the  child,  and  a  limited  right  of  cancellation  is 
also  granted  to  the  guardian. 

The  fourth  step  is  the  supervision  of  the  child  in  his 
new  home.  This  supervision  continues  until  the  child  is 
released  from  the  control  of  the  society.  Many  children 
are  not  adopted  at  all,  and  are  supervised  by  the  child- 
caring  agency  until  their  majority  or  until  they  are  suffi- 
ciently mature  to  make  further  care  unnecessary.  Agents 
of  the  child-caring  society  visit  the  children  in  their  new 
homes  and  learn  of  their  progress  and  development.  Guar- 
dians may  become  neglectful,  indifference  to  the  welfare  of 
the  child  may  arise,  and  fundamental  changes  occur  in 
the  family  conditions  or  relations  —  all  of  which  may  con- 
duce to  the  disadvantage  of  the  child.  The  history  of 
placing  out  under  inadequate  supervision  demonstrates  the 
need  of  frequent  visitation  of  children. 

Experience  has  also  indicated  the  need  of  the  following 
features  in  connection  with  the  supervision  of  children  in 
foster  homes :  first,  visits  to  be  effective  should  be  made 
quarterly  or  oftener.  Unfortunately  this  is  not  usually 
done,  and  many  failures  are  either  never  discovered  or  are 
unearthed  long  after  the  child  has  begun  to  suffer  from  his 
uncongenial  environment.  Second,  visits  should  be  made 
without  previous  notice  to  guardians.  The  conditions 
which  actually  obtain  can  not  otherwise  be  discovered. 
Third,  written  reports  made  out  by  the  agents  should  be 
on  file  in  the  office  of  the  society  so  that  the  condition  of 


METHODS  OP  CHILD  SAVING.    PRIVATE      319 

the  child  can  be  continuously  followed.  A  report  should 
cover  all  the  essential  details  regarding  the  progress  of  the 
child.  Fourth,  the  judgment  of  the  agent  should  deter- 
mine the  advisability  of  allowing  the  child  to  remain  or 
of  requiring  his  removal.  Additional  means  of  securing 
adequate  knowledge  of  the  conditions  of  the  child  are 
usually  employed.  Reports  are  sent  by  the  teacher  of 
the  school  attended,  by  the  pastor  of  the  church,  by  the 
Sunday  school  teacher,  and  by  the  guardian  directly. 
Agents  of  the  state  or  county  in  some  states  also  visit 
children  and  report  as  to  the  conditions  under  which  they 
found  them.  In  New  York,  officials  are  required  to  report 
to  the  State  Board  of  Charities  every  month. 

5.  Difficulties  of  Placing  Out. 

The  difficulties  of  placing  out  are  twofold  —  those 
affecting  the  child  and  those  affecting  the  guardian.  When 
a  large  number  of  children  must  be  disposed  of,  the  number 
of  free  homes  may  be  insufficient  to  meet  the  demands. 
Accordingly  only  the  more  likely  children  can  be  placed, 
while  those  suffering  from  deformities,  weaknesses,  illegiti- 
mate origin,  and  marked  racial  tendencies,  can  be  placed 
only  with  difficulty  or  must  be  boarded  or  otherwise  pro- 
vided for.  Again,  little  children,  especially  girls  under 
three  years  of  age,  are  placed  more  easily  than  the  older 
children.  The  former  are  captivating  and  attractive,  and 
have  not  yet  suffered  from  the  evil  influence  of  the  usual 
environment  of  the  dependent  child.  The  older  children 
are  often  vicious  and  spoiled,  and  therefore  applicants 
hesitate  to  select  them.  The  outward  expression  of  heredi- 
tary traits  as  well  as  the  impressions  made  by  a  bad  en- 
vironment reahze  themselves  in  part  long  before  the  age 
limit  beyond  which  societies  usually  decline  to  accept  chil- 
dren for  placing  out.  Such  children  suffer  greatly  from 
this  disadvantage,  and  are  not  so  easily  placed. 


320  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

The  difficulty  in  regard  to  prospective  guardians  con- 
sists largely  of  the  selfish  or  economic  motive  which  prompts 
them  to  attempt  to  secure  children  from  the  placing-out 
agency.  The  older  children  are  wanted  because  of  their 
ability  to  work.  Many  farmers  apply  for  children  in  the 
spring  of  the  year  when  work  is  plentiful  and  help  is  needed. 
Other  applicants  have  use  for  a  handy  boy,  while  girls  are 
often  wanted  for  household  purposes.  Extreme  ^aution 
is  necessary  on  the  part  of  the  investigating  agency  in  order 
to  insure  the  rejection  of  all  appUcations  for  children 
wanted  for  mere  mercenary  reasons,  and  without  effec- 
tive supervision  harsh  treatment  might  not  be  discovered 
and  the  child  be  victimized  for  several  years. 

6.  The  Temporary  Home. 

The  temporary  home  has  become  a  valuable  adjunct 
of  the  Home-Finding  Society.  Children  are  taken  to  these 
homes  before  they  are  placed  out,  but  are  retained  no 
longer  than  necessary  to  find  them  an  agreeable  home, 
except  in  a  limited  number  of  cases  which  require  the  dis- 
cipline of  short  institutional  treatment.  The  vicious 
and  unmanageable  children  are  at  a  disadvantage,  and  are 
likely  to  fail  unless  the  curative  discipHne  of  the  temporary 
home  is  provided  for  them.  In  a  short  time  they  may  be 
ready  for  the  family  home.  It  is  probable  that  a  larger 
percentage  of  children  who  have  temporary  institutional 
treatment  are  successful,  than  of  those  placed  out  without 
preliminary  training. 

7.  Results  of  the  Placing-Out  System. 

The  precise  results  of  placing  out  as  a  policy  of  child- 
saving  still  remain  undetermined.^  Reports  vary  widely 
in  their  judgment  on  this  point.     In  spite  of  utmost  pre- 

^  The  Russell  Sage  Foundation  has  recently  undertaken  an  investiga- 
tion of  this  subject. 


METHODS  OF  CHILD  SAVING.    PRIVATE     321 

cautions,  a  large  number  of  children  must  be  placed  twice 
or  oftener  before  a  congenial  home  can  be  found.  It  has 
been  estimated  that  50  per  cent  of  all  children  must  be 
replaced.*  After  the  transfers  are  made  the  great  majority 
of  children  are  measurably  successful.  The  New  York 
Society  estimates  that  87  per  cent  of  the  children  which  it 
placed  out  are  "doing  well."  The  Michigan  State  School 
reportg  that  in  1908,  75  per  cent  of  the  children  placed 
out  belong  to  this  class,  and  most  of  the  remainder  were 
reported  as  doing  "fairly  well."  The  number  of  failures 
was  small.  A  small  percentage  of  children,  however, 
disappear  entirely,  and  a  few  are  sent  to  reformatory  in- 
stitutions. Those  doing  poorly  are  usually  boys  and  girls 
placed  after  they  have  reached  the  age  of  ten.  At  present 
the  average  age  at  which  children  are  placed  out  by  a 
munber  of  our  best  child-caring  agencies  —  public  and 
private  —  ranges  from  five  to  six  years.  Good  results 
may  be  expected  from  a  policy  of  placing  very  young 
children. 

8.  Adoption. 

It  is  desirable  that  the  number  of  adoptions  be  as  large 
as  possible,  as  far  as  this  may  be  consistent  with  the  rights 
of  parents.  Sometimes  the  latter  regain  their  ability  to 
care  for  their  children,  and  desire  their  return.  Under 
certain  conditions  this  should  be  allowed.  The  actual 
percentage  of  adoptions  does  not  rise  above  25  per  cent, 
and  for  most  agencies  is  considerably  lower,  often  falling 
to  mere  nominal  figures.  Children  are  given  a  trial  of 
about  one  year,  after  which  they  may  be  adopted.  If  this 
step  is  taken,  the  jurisdiction  of  the  society  ceases.  The 
great  bulk  of  children  in  the  free  homes  become  of  age  or 
self-supporting  without  being  made  members  of  the  guar- 
dian's family. 

1  Henderson,  C.  R.,  Dependents,  Defectives,  Delinquents,  p.  114. 

T 


322  CHILD  PROBLEMS 


9.  Dangers  of  Incompetent  Management. 

The  larger  societies  are  very  efficiently  managed,  but 
the  smaller  ones  still  suffer  from  inferior  service.  The 
New  York  Committee  of  the  State  Board  of  Charities, 
which  investigates  placing  out  in  that  state,  has  discovered 
conditions  which  indicate  that,  while  the  children  were  usu- 
ally well-fed  and  properly  clothed,  they  suffered  from  the 
following  disadvantages :  — 

(1)  Agents  were  careless  in  the  selection  of  a  home. 

(2)  The  preliminary  examinations  were  far  from  being 
thorough. 

(3)  Localities  desired  to  shift  the  responsibihty  of  caring 
for  their  dependent  children. 

(4)  Children  were  often  transferred  from  one  family; 
to  another  independently  of  the  action  of  a  society. 

(5)  School  attendance  was  being  neglected. 
Although  these  conditions  are  largely  disappearing  in 

New  York,  they  still  obtain  in  certain  parts  of  the  country. 

10.  Needs  and  Reforms. 

Cooperation  of  child-saving  agencies  and  their  simpli- 
fication as  well  as  reduction  in  numbers  are  among  the 
greatest  needs  of  to-day.  A  considerable  number  of  small, 
ill-equipped  agencies  are  in  existence,  and  their  work  is 
quite  inferior  to  present  standards.  By  combining  and 
cooperating,  greater  efficiency  will  be  obtained.  De- 
nominational friction  prevents  the  needed  reduction  of 
agencies  at  present,  but  even  here  greater  cooperation  is 
possible.  A  large  nondenominational  society  is  sufficient 
for  a  single  state  unless  the  presence  of  a  large  city  necessi- 
tates some  auxiliary  aid.  This  can  be  furnished  by  a  very 
limited  number  of  sectarian  agencies.  Concentration 
of  the  work  in  the  hands  of  a  single  administration  would 
be  more  desirable,  however.    A  children's  bureau  acting 


METHODS  OF  CHILD  SAVING.    PRIVATE     323 

as  a  clearing-house  of  cases  marks  the  farthest  step  in 
advance. 

Efficient  management  is  one  of  the  important  needs  in 
child-saving  agencies.  Thorough  organization  is  required 
so  that  children  can  be  promptly  and  efficiently  handled. 
The  child  ready  to  be  placed  out  should  not  suffer  from 
delays.  There  should  be  ample  knowledge  of  the  where- 
abouts of  desirable  homes.  More  trained  officials  are 
needed  to  carry  on  the  work.  Too  often  the  social  per- 
spective of  the  agent,  or  even  of  the  secretary  himself,  is  too 
narrow  to  make  possible  the  best  results.  Hence  children 
are  poorly  placed  or  undergo  a  demoralizing  routine  from 
which  recovery  is  extremely  difficult.  The  smaller  societies 
especially  need  more  trained  officials.  The  larger  ones, 
recognizing  the  need  of  efficient  workers,  have  begun  to 
train  their  own  staff  by  requiring  attendance  at  appro- 
priate lectures  in  schools  of  social  work,  or  by  organizing 
for  themselves  a  course  on  child  problems. 


CHAPTER   IV 

METHODS    OF    CHILD    SAVING.      PRIVATE    {continued) 

1.  Societies  for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to 
Children. 

Cases  of  destitution  depending  upon  ill  treatment,  neg- 
lect, and  cruelty  are  somewhat  different  from  pure  depend- 
ency cases,  and  are  in  many  cities  handled  by  separate 
organizations.  The  Humane  or  Prevention  of  Cruelty 
Societies  were  originated  for  this  purpose.  So  little  atten- 
tion was  until  recently  paid  to  the  neglected  child  that  his 
interests  were  practically  overlooked  and  nothing  was  done 
for  him.  Societies  concerned  with  the  prevention  of  cruelty 
were  only  organized  within  the  last  forty  years.  The  New 
York  City  society  was  founded  in  1874,  and  incorporated 
in  the  following  year  under  a  law  enacted  for  the  special 
purpose  of  giving  such  societies  a  legal  standing.  This 
pioneer  work  was  followed  by  a  wave  of  societies  rising  all 
over  the  United  States.  Many  were  formed  during  the 
seventies,  and  in  the  smaller  cities  and  towns  extensive 
organization  has  occurred  during  the  last  decade.  In  the 
majority  of  cases  among  the  latter  the  "Humane  Society" 
has  been  established,  but  in  the  large  cities  distinct  societies 
for  the  prevention  of  cruelty  to  children  are  the  rule. 

The  original  humane  societies  were  interested  in  animals 
only  and  were  organized  for  their  protection.  In  the 
majority  of  cases,  even  now,  in  spite  of  the  anomaly  of  the 
combination,  they  protect  both  children  and  animals  from 

324 


METHODS  OF  CHILD  SAVING.    PRIVATE      325 

cruelty.  This  is  especially  true  in  the  small  cities,  which 
can  not  afford  two  separate  societies  and  therefore  combine 
the  two  functions  in  one.  In  many  instances  the  protection 
of  children  seems  to  have  been  an  afterthought.  Unfor- 
tunately the  principles  of  action  which  determine  policies 
in  regard  to  children  and  to  animals  are  so  different  that 
the  society  caring  for  both  threatens  to  become  warped 
in  perspective,  and  appUes  to  children  the  wrong  kind  of 
treatment. 

The  character  of  organization  usually  agrees  with  the 
special  conditions  under  which  the  work  is  done.  Some 
societies  have  a  state  organization  and  conduct  branches 
in  various  parts  of  the  state.  Of  this  type  the  Massachu- 
setts society  is  an  example.  Those  of  Ohio  and  Wisconsin 
enjoy  still  wider  ramifications,  and  have  a  considerable 
number  of  branches.  The  best  class  of  these  societies  is 
incorporated  under  the  laws  of  the  state.  Some,  however, 
limit  their  work  to  the  city  or  county  in  which  they  are 
located.  County  incorporation  is  very  common,  especially 
among  humane  societies  of  the  smaller  towns  of  the  West. 
Occasionally  they  take  the  form  of  city  organizations,  con- 
fining their  work  to  the  particular  city  or  perhaps  extending 
it  to  suburban  sections.  Sometimes  the  society  is  a  branch 
or  department  of  the  charity  organization  society. 

Canada  has  a  considerable  number  of  protective  societies, 
and  the  work  has  also  been  established  abroad.  The 
London  organization  operates  throughout  England,  Wales, 
and  Ireland  and  has  more  than  one  thousand  centers  of 
work.  Paris  has  a  society,  and  the  one  in  Berlin  has  es- 
tablished five  branch  societies.  More  work  of  this  kind 
is  badly  needed  in  other  European  countries. 

a.   Functions  of  Societies. 

The  corporate  objects  of  the  New  York  Society  are  as 
follows:  "The  particular  business  of  this  society  and 
objects  of  this  society  are  the  prevention  of  cruelty  to  chil- 


326  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

dren  and  the  enforcement  by  all  lawful  means  of  the  laws 
relating  to  or  in  any  wise  affecting  children."  To  carry 
out  these  objects  the  society  may  prefer  complaints  before 
the  proper  courts  for  the  violation  of  laws  affecting  or 
relating  to  children  and  may  aid  in  bringing  the  facts  before 
the  courts.  The  proper  functions  of  such  a  society  have 
been  very  concisely  and  ably  stated  by  Mr.  C.  C.  Carstens 
of  Massachusetts  :  ^  — 

(1)  ''To  prevent  physical  injury,  remove  the  child  when- 
ever it  is  necessary  to  protect  it,  and  punish  the  offenders 
whenever  the  best  interests  of  all  concerned  demand  it. 

(2)  ''To  prevent  physical  neglect;  in  extreme  cases  to 
remove  the  children  and  find  better  homes  for  them  through 
suitable  agencies. 

(3)  "  To  rescue  children  from  immoral  surroundings 
and  shield  them  from  immoral  contamination. 

(4)  "To  protect  wife  and  dependent  children  from  non- 
support  and  desertion  of  the  bread-winner  and  to  protect 
children  from  abandonment  by  either  parent. 

(5)  "To  secure  suitable  new  guardians  for  children  who 
have  been  deprived  of  their  natural  guardians  or  who  should 
be  removed  from  them  in  the  interests  of  humanity." 

The  purposes  thus  stated  include  protection  and  amel- 
ioration of  conditions  for  the  neglected  child  and  the  pre- 
vention of  contingencies  which  will  cause  the  child  to 
be  victimized.  Protection  to  the  child  is  accomplished 
through  the  prosecution  of  cruel  parents  and  guardians  as 
well  as  through  various  devices  for  directly  shielding  the 
child  from  cruelty.  The  more  conservative  societies  have 
largely  confined  their  attention  to  remedial  efforts,  only 
cases  of  actual  cruelty  or  violations  of  the  laws  safeguard- 
ing the  interests  of  children  being  considered.  Thus  few 
homes  are  interfered  with,  and  a  vast  amount  of  misery 

1  28th  Annual  Report,  Massachusetts  Society  for  the  Prevention  of 
Cruelty  to  Children. 


METHODS  OF  CHILD  SAVING.    PRIVATE      327 

remains  entirely  uncovered  and  unmolested.  Meanwhile 
children  suffer,  become  immoral  or  vicious,  and  are  shorn 
of  normal  opportunities.  Preventive  work  is  needed,  and 
therefore  radical  leaders  have  favored  interference  with 
family  relations  whenever  the  interests  of  the  child  seemed 
to  be  jeopardized.  This,  however,  has  led  to  the  more 
extensive  breaking  of  family  ties  than  society  justifies  at 
the  present  time.  Anti-cruelty  societies  have  suffered 
from  the  charge  that  they  were  largely  interested  in  the 
work  of  breaking  up  families,  but  their  mission  has  been 
misunderstood.  Overzealous  officials  may  sometimes 
consider  only  the  interests  of  the  child  and  overlook  the 
possible  danger  to  the  family  as  an  institution.  The  child 
should  not  be  removed  unless  he  will  gain  more  than  he 
loses  by  the  transaction,  but  in  addition  the  effect  of  the 
act  upon  society  itself  must  not  be  dropped  from  consid- 
eration. The  parent  is  also  a  factor,  and  can  not  be  Ughtly 
thrown  aside.  Many  parents,  however,  are  unfit,  and 
their  children  can  only  be  saved  by  removing  them  and 
placing  them  under  new  and  more  congenial  surroundings. 
The  following  quotation  from  Mr.  Carsten's  statement 
of  the  society's  functions  represents  a  progressive  but 
safe  attitude  toward  the  subject.^  ''A  society  for  the 
prevention  of  cruelty  to  children  should  be  equipped  so 
that  it  may  deal  promptly  with  all  flagrant  instances  of 
cruelty  and  neglect,  and  in  cooperation  with  other  agencies 
carry  out  the  community's  purposes.  It  should  be  ready 
to  assume  leadership  in  urging  legislation  or  in  organizing 
community  action  to  protect  children  from  abuses  that 
exist  or  are  likely  to  arise.  It  should  engage  in  an  organ- 
ized way  to  make  a  community  increasingly  sensitive  to 
forms  of  abuse  that  exist  but  whose  evil  results  have  not 
yet  been  appreciated.''  Here  we  find  not  only  emphasis 
on  remedial  work,  but  also  upon  methods  which  if  properly 

1  Op.  cit. 


328  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

instituted  and  carried  out  will  prevent  much  of  the  abuse 
from  which  children  are  suffering  at  the  present  time. 

h.   Work  of  Typical  Societies, 

Cruelty  cases  often  develop  into  destitution  cases,  but  as 
these  societies  are  not  relief  agencies,  and  should  not  be, 
effective  work  requires  their  cooperation  with  other  agencies 
which  will  care  for  the  children  rescued  from  their  neglected 
condition.  Accordingly  such  methods  of  cooperation 
should  be  instituted  as  will  hasten  the  disposition  of  the 
child  in  question.  Institutions  and  home-finding  societies 
are  the  chief  child-caring  agencies  to  which  the  cruelty 
societies  may  turn.  In  Massachusetts  the  Children's  Aid 
Society  and  the  state  board  of  charity  are  especially  used 
for  this  purpose,  and  the  Catholic  charities  take  care  of  some 
of  the  children.  In  Philadelphia  the  formation  of  the 
children's  bureau  simpHfies  the  work,  and  the  placing-out 
agency  takes  the  children  turned  over  to  it  from  the  cruelty 
society  and  disposes  of  them  according  to  its  regular  meth- 
ods. In  New  York  City  the  great  majority  of  destitute 
children  are  transferred  to  the  overabundant  institutions 
of  the  city.  Catholic,  Protestant,  and  Hebrew  institutions 
are  the  chief  recipients.  Nonsectarian  institutions  re- 
ceive comparatively  few  children.  In  other  cities  and 
states  one  or  more  of  the  above  mentioned  methods  are  in 
operation. 

The  amount  of  work  accomplished  by  the  New  York 
society  is  astonishing.  During  1906-1907,  9902  children 
were  placed  in  homes  or  institutions ;  10,371  cases  affect- 
ing children  were  prosecuted,  and  8456  convictions  pro- 
cured ;  916  lost  children  were  recovered ;  a  large  number 
of  the  theaters  were  investigated  in  regard  to  the  employ- 
ment of  children  upon  the  stage ;  and  more  than  1000 
baby  farm  applications  were  considered.  It  also  collected 
from  deUnquent  parents  upward  of  $40,000,  which  was 
paid  into  the  city  treasury.    A  large  percentage  of  the 


METHODS  OF  CHILD  SAVING.    PRIVATE       329 

prosecution  cases  were  offenses  against  children.  Con- 
victions were  procured  for  such  offenses  as  selling  liquor 
to  children,  seUing  firearms,  buying  junk,  enticement  into 
or  exposure  to  immoral  surroundings,  keeping  gambling 
devices  for  the  use  of  children,  assault,  cruelty,  and  neg- 
lect. A  considerable  proportion  of  the  work  of  the  society, 
however,  was  in  connection  with  the  delinquent  child  in 
the  juvenile  court,  and  therefore  no  comparisons  can  be 
made  with  the  work  of  other  societies  which  confine  their 
labors  to  the  neglected  and  ill-treated  child. 

In  1908  the  Massachusetts  society  investigated  cases 
involving  6180  different  children,  of  which  1966  were 
brought  into  court,  and  262  children  were  cared  for  in  the 
society's  home  during  the  year.  As  the  average  period 
of  detention  was  only  17  days,  most  of  these  children  were 
speedily  placed  in  homes  and  institutions  under  proper 
care.  These  societies  cooperate  so  closely  with  the  courts 
that  they  are  virtually  semi-governmental  bodies  and  not 
mere  private  philanthropies.  One  of  their  greatest  needs  is 
close  cooperation  with  other  charitable  agencies  as  well  as 
with  the  courts.  Heretofore  they  have  been  handicapped 
by  not  being  prepared  to  dispose  of  children  taken  by  them 
from  bad  family  conditions.  Placing  out  is  a  function  of 
the  home-finding  societies,  but  the  absence  of  suflicient  co- 
operation has  thrown  the  anti-cruelty  societies  on  their 
own  resources.  In  New  York  an  immense  institutional 
population  has  been  maintained  by  this  unfortunate  feeder. 
It  has  been  easier  to  place  children  in  the  hands  of  an  in- 
stitution, and  therefore  cooperation  with  placing-out  so- 
cieties has  been  far  from  adequate.  In  the  future  such 
cooperation  will  increase,  and  the  institution  will  gain  but 
little  from  the  work  of  societies  for  the  prevention  of  cruelty 
to  children.  The  abandonment  of  relief  work  will  enable 
these  societies  to  insist  more  effectively  on  preventive 
work. 


330  CHILD  PROBLEMS 


2.  The  Institution.* 


The  institution  still  plays  a  very  important  part  among 
the  philanthropic  agencies  of  the  country.  In  spite  of  the 
objections  of  social  workers,  it  persists  in  its  work,  and 
nearly  two  thirds  of  all  dependent  children  are  under  its 
control.  Orphanages  and  children's  homes  form  about  one 
fourth  of  all  the  benevolent  institutions  in  the  United 
States.  There  are  more  than  1000  of  these  homes,  956 
of  which  are  under  the  control  of  private  or  ecclesiastical 
bodies,  and  only  119  are  directly  controlled  by  the  pub- 
lic.^ The  population  of  the  public  institutions  is  only 
about  one  tenth  that  of  the  orphanages.  In  1904  the 
ecclesiastical  homes  contained  52,000  of  the  92,000  chil- 
dren in  homes,  while  other  private  institutions  held  30,000. 
During  this  year,  32,199  children  were  received  in  the 
private  institutions,  and  31,443  in  those  under  ecclesiastical 
control.  Although  receiving  a  smaller  number  of  children, 
the  denominational  institutions  contain  a  much  larger 
aggregate  of  inmates,  thus  indicating  that  they  do  not 
allow  their  children  to  pass  through  their  institutions  so 
rapidly  as  do  the  private  homes.  Owing  to  the  various 
methods  of  handling  dependent  children,  the  different  states 
vary  widely  in  their  proportion  of  institutions  as  well  as 
of  inmates.  Where  placing-out  systems  are  well  estab- 
lished, the  percentage  of  children  in  orphanages  has  been 
greatly  reduced. 

a.  Disadvantages  of  the  Institution. 

One  of  the  important  disadvantages  of  the  institution 
is  the  slow  movement  of  its  population  into  individual 
homes.     Unless  an  efficient  placing-out  bureau  is  main- 

1  Althot\gh  the  institution  still  plays  a  large  part  in  the  work  of  child- 
saving,  the  principles  and  methods  involved  in  institutional  care  are 
so  well  known  by  philanthropic  and  even  by  lay  workers,  that  nothing 
more  than  a  brief  discussion  of  the  subject  is  necessary. 

2  Benevolent  Institutions,  Bureau  of  the  Census,  p.  28. 


METHODS  OF  CHILD  SAVING.    PRIVATE      331 

tained  or  some  central  agency  can  be  utilized,  the  orphan- 
age will  fail  to  place  its  children  in  family  homes  or  will 
delay  this  important  duty.  Many  institutions  have  utterly 
failed  to  develop  a  satisfactory  plan  of  home  finding  for 
their  inmates.  Some  of  them  are  proud  of  the  large  num- 
ber of  children  for  which  they  are  caring.  Instead,  they 
should  feel  pride  in  their  ability  to  find  private  homes  for 
their  inmates.  To  the  uncritical  eye,  more  seems  to  be 
accomplished  if  children  can  be  seen  swarming  all  over 
the  institution.  The  happy  child  in  the  country  home  is 
not  present  to  impress  the  visitor  at  the  orphanage.  So 
there  is  often  the  disinclination  to  part  with  the  children. 

Another  disadvantage  of  the  institution  is  the  type  of 
building,  and  its  usual  location.  The  cottage  system  has 
not  commonly  superseded  the  old  institutional  form  of 
building,  which  is  usually  located  in  the  city  itself  or  in  the 
immediate  outskirts  where  sufficient  room  and  the  most 
congenial  surroundings  are  not  available.  Another  pos- 
sible danger  fies  in  the  difficulty  of  properly  classifying 
and  segregating  children  of  various  types  and  dispositions. 
Within  a  single  institution  we  frequently  find  mental 
defectives,  backward  children,  dehnquents,  dependents, 
and  neglected  or  ill-treated  children.  Contamination  of 
the  moral  children  by  those  displaying  immoral  tendencies 
can  hardly  be  avoided  except  by  the  strictest  possible 
classification. 

Individualization  is  not  possible  in  institutions,  and  one 
of  the  most  important  needs  of  the  child  is  therefore  neg- 
lected. In  the  home  the  child  is  ''mothered,"  and  enjoys 
a  spontaneity  and  freedom  from  irksome  discipHne  which 
develops  his  self-reliance  and  ability  to  do  independent 
work.  He  comes  in  contact  with  the  world,  and  by  learning 
its  methods  adapts  himself  to  its  conditions.  The  child 
in  the  institution  leads  an  artificial  life  under  artificial 
conditions,  and  his  ''hothouse''  development  does  not  pre- 


332  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

pare  for  the  environment  into  which  he  passes  after  he 
leaves  the  institution.  He  finds  himself  quite  helpless, 
and  the  problems  of  life  overtax  him.  He  does  not  under- 
stand the  struggles  of  the  world,  and  is  frequently  sub- 
merged. His  education  is  often  less  efficient  than  that 
provided  for  the  normal  boy,  and  his  play  and  recreational 
facihties  are  so  limited  that  he  fails  utterly  to  gain  the 
freedom  and  pleasure  enjoyed  by  the  child  in  the  home. 
Many  social  workers  of  to-day  declare  that  unless  a  home 
is  very  bad,  it  is  better  for  the  child  than  a  good  institution. 
Furthermore,  many  institutions  do  not  reach  the  level  of 
the  best  standards,  and  the  effect  on  the  child  is  injurious. 
Children  are  in  many  instances  still  marched  to  schools 
in  squads  and  returned  in  similar  manner.  Besides,  in 
many  places  even  the  wisdom  of  sending  them  to  the  pub- 
He  schools  has  not  yet  been  recognized.  However,  an  ex- 
ception must  be  made  in  favor  of  some  institutions,  espe- 
cially many  Hebrew  orphanages  which  now  grant  complete 
freedom  to  children  going  to  and  coming  from  school. 
Kindergarten  instruction  and  manual  training  of  superior 
value  have  also  been  added  to  the  curricula  of  many  or- 
phanages. Through  summer  outings  and  excursions,  re- 
freshing nature  is  temporarily  substituted  for  the  prosaic 
surroundings  of  the  institution.  These  encouraging  fea- 
tures can  not,  however,  remove  the  inherent  disadvantages 
of  institutional  life. 

h.  Advantages. 

As  indicated  in  a  preceding  chapter,  a  most  appropriate 
function  of  the  institution  is  its  use  as  a  home  or  school 
for  defective  children  and  those  who  are  crippled,  deformed, 
incurably  diseased,  or  otherwise  so  afflicted  that  either 
custodial  care  or  prolonged  treatment  is  necessary.  Such 
children  can  be  more  successfully  handled  and  trained 
in  an  institution  than  in  any  other  way.  A  second  value 
consists  of  the  opportunity  for  temporary  shelter  for  the 


METHODS  OF  CHILD  SAVING.    PRIVATE       333 

child  pending  a  search  for  a  suitable  home.  In  spite  of 
the  effort  to  place  children  out  directly,  few  agencies  are 
able  to  dispense  entirely  with  some  form  of  institution. 
Again,  children  in  need  of  temporary  care  can  often  find 
no  other  accommodations  than  those  afforded  by  an  insti- 
tution. The  disciphne,  regularity,  and  decorum  enforced 
in  well-established  children's  homes  often  prepares  the 
untaught  child  for  family  life.  The  child  who  has  hved 
in  a  bad  home  under  improper  training  has  invariably 
developed  irregular  and  irresponsible  habits.  For  such 
habits  the  unrelaxing  routine  of  institutional  life  is  the 
best  treatment.  Without  this  discipline,  it  is  doubtful 
if  such  children  would  ever  become  law-abiding  citizens. 

3.  Foundling  Asylums. 

Homes  for  foundlings  and  illegitimate  children  must  be 
provided  to  save  the  helpless  infants  that  are  picked  up  on 
the  streets,  or  the  children  born  in  shame  and  dependent 
on  an  unmarried  mother.  Institutions  of  this  kind  should 
be  small,  and  care  for  a  limited  number  of  babies.  Other- 
wise an  enormous  death  rate  will  prevail.  The  mortality 
of  illegitimate  children  is  almost  double  that  of  lawful 
children.  Inanition,  malnutrition,  premature  birth,  and 
physical  defects  are  the  principal  causes.  Many  abnormal 
children  are  also  found  among  this  group.  It  is  also  true 
that  lack  of  adequate  care  is  often  responsible  for  the 
heavy  death  rate.  The  illegitimate  does  not  always  receive 
sufficient  attention,  because  institutions  are  commonly  too 
large  to  provide  the  child  with  individual  care.  The  neces- 
sary death  rate  need  be  but  Httle  larger  than  that  of  legiti- 
mate infants.  Improved  methods  of  care  either  in  small 
homes  or  in  private  families  will  materially  reduce  the 
mortality. 

Cooperation  with  municipal  authorities  is  usually  neces- 
sary for  successful  work.     Frequezitly  these  asylums  are 


334  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

denominational,  hence  the  police  and  city  officials  in  the 
large  cities  must  apportion  the  children  among  the  various 
institutions  ministering  to  this  need.  Relations  with  some 
of  the  maternity  hospitals  must  also  be  established  Wher- 
ever possible  the  infants  should  be  placed  out  under  the 
care  of  kind  mothers  who  will  keep  them  under  close  super- 
vision. The  methods  of  disposition  should  be  so  arranged 
as  to  obtain  if  possible  the  following  results  :  first,  the  full 
responsibility  of  both  parents  of  the  child ;  second,  the  care 
of  the  child  by  its  parents  ;  third,  a  deterring  influence  on 
society  and  the  lessening  of  the  percentage  of  abandon- 
ment and  illegitimacy. 

4.  Conclusion. 

The  work  of  private  child-caring  agencies  thus  appears 
to  cover  every  branch  of  child  saving.  Home-finding 
and  aid  societies  care  for  dependent  children  within  or 
without  their  homes,  and  often  pay  attention  to  the  neg- 
lected child.  More  than  one  third  of  all  children  removed 
froni  homes  are  thus  cared  for.  The  anti-cruelty  societies 
care  for  neglected  and  ill-treated  cases,  and  cover  most  of 
the  work  done  in  the  United  States  in  this  respect.  The 
institutions,  in  spite  of  their  defects,  are  caring  for  the  bulk 
of  dependent  children,  and  minister  to  the  needy  of  every 
class.  Other  agencies  frequently  give  temporary  aid. 
Charity  organization  societies,  settlements,  churches,  clubs, 
etc.,  often  assist  in  the  care  of  children ;  day  nurseries 
handle  small  children  during  daylight  hours ;  summer 
outing  machinery  is  provided  in  various  ways  and  operates 
to  give  fresh  air  and  enjoyment  to  the  poor  as  well  as  to 
the  dependent  children.  The  variety  of  work  now  under- 
taken is  extensive  and  most  hopeful  for  the  future. 


CHAPTER   V 

CHILD-SAVING  AGENCIES.      PUBLIC. 

Owing  to  the  peculiar  development  of  American  philan- 
thropy, public  agencies  for  the  care  of  dependent  and  neg- 
lected children  have  taken  several  forms.  Among  these 
are  :  the  State  School  System,  State  Placing-out  System, 
County  Home  Plan,  and  the  system  of  PubUc  Subsidies  to 
Private  Institutions.  Local  methods  of  work  in  the  indi- 
vidual states  have  naturally  determined  the  evolution  of 
systems  along  particular  lines,  and  a  variety  of  methods 
of  child  saving  have  therefore  arisen. 

1.  The  State  School  System. 

The  most  common  method  of  pubHc  care  is  the  state 
school  system.  It  has  been  adopted  in  whole  or  in  part  by 
eleven  states  —  Michigan,  Minnesota,  Wisconsin,  Rhode 
Island,  Kansas,  Iowa,  Nebraska,  Montana,  Texas,  Colo- 
rado, and  Nevada.  In  a  number  of  states  the  function  of 
the  homes  for  soldiers'  and  sailors'  orphans  has  been  ex- 
panded to  include  the  duties  of  a  state  school.  In  Iowa, 
for  example,  children  may  be  sent  as  county  wards  to  the 
school  and  are  partially  supported  by  state  funds,  but  these 
children  are  distinguished  from  those  for  whom  the  in- 
stitution was  originally  built.  The  first  state  to  adopt 
the  system  was  Michigan,  in  1874.  At  that  time  at  least 
600  children  were  scattered  about  in  the  almshouses  of 
that  state,  and  a  radical  departure  in  method  was  necessary 
to  save  them  from  pauperism.  Accordingly  the  state 
school  was  established,  and  dependent  children  between  the 

335 


336  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

ages  of  four  and  fourteen  years  were  admitted.  Subse- 
quent revisions  of  the  law  established  new  age  limits.  At 
present  children  from  one  to  twelve  years  of  age  are  spe- 
cially cared  for,  but  under  certain  conditions  any  child  under 
fourteen  years  of  age  will  be  received.  A  babies'  cottage 
has  been  provided  to  meet  the  needs  of  infants. 

a.   Essential  Elements  of  the  State  School  System. 

The  essential  elements  of  the  state  school  system,  as 
exempHfied  by  Michigan,  are  the  following  :  the  investiga- 
tion of  cases  considered  for  the  state  school,  the  transferal 
by  the  courts  of  the  children  to  the  school,  the  temporary 
detention  and  maintenance  of  the  children  in  the  insti- 
tution, training  and  school  work  during  the  stay  of  the 
child,  a  state  placing-out  system,  the  speedy  placing  of 
children  in  private  homes,  and  the  subsequent  supervision 
of  the  child  in  these  homes.  A  dependent  child  is  sent  to 
the  school  only  after  a  petition  has  been  filed  in  the  pro- 
bate court  of  the  county  in  which  the  child  resides,  and 
the  petition  must  be  signed  by  at  least  two  of  the  super- 
intendents of  the  poor  in  the  said  county.  The  court 
orders  an  investigation  of  the  causes  of  dependency,  the 
condition  of  the  parents,  the  child's  former  maintenance, 
etc.,  before  making  an  appropriate  disposition  of  the  case. 
Ample  precautions  are  thus  taken  to  prevent  the  sending 
of  unworthy  children  to  the  school.  When  the  child  is 
made  a  pubHc  ward,  the  State  Board  of  Control  becomes 
his  legal  guardian  and  parents  or  relatives  sever  their  direct 
control. 

The  school  is  essentially  a  temporary  home.  It  com- 
prises nine  cottages,  and  accommodations  are  provided  for 
250  children.  At  no  time  has  it  been  the  purpose  of  the 
managers  or  superintendents  to  detain  children  longer  than 
necessary.  The  training  given  is  intended  to  fit  them 
for  life  in  the  family  so  that  they  may  inspire  the  affection 
which  is  necessary  to  promote  the  possibility  of  their  adop- 


CHILD-SAVING  AGENCIES.    PUBLIC.  337 

tion.  The  actual  average  length  of  residence  of  children 
in  tlie  school  is  three  and  one  tenth  months.  They  receive 
good  medical  service,  and  during  their  brief  stay  are  given 
instruction  in  the  common  branches,  manual  training,  and 
domestic  science.  As  the  children  are  quite  young,  the 
greater  portion  of  the  work  consists  of  kindergarten  and 
primary  instruction.  A  garden  and  a  farm  of  160  acres  offer 
some  opportunities  for  the  older  children. 

The  Minnesota  school,  although  very  efficient,  holds 
children  received  for  the  first  time  an  average  length  of 
about  five  and  five  tenths  months,  but  including  those 
who  are  returned  and  placed  again,  the  length  of  stay  is 
thirteen  months.  In  Iowa,  where  the  law  prevents  facihty 
in  handUng  the  cases,  soldiers'  children  actually  remain  an 
average  of  a  little  over  four  years.  The  county  wards, 
on  the  other  hand,  remain  only  two  years  and  eleven 
months. 

The  most  successful  work  for  dependent  children  is  done 
for  those  who  are  comparatively  young.  Because  children 
form  many  bad  habits  under  the  abnormal  conditions 
among  which  they  are  almost  invariably  found,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  place  them  out  at  the  earliest  possible  age,  so  that 
their  habits  may  be  re-formed  in  the  new  home.  In  the 
Michigan  state  school  the  average  age  of  the  children  is  less 
than  seven  years,  but  in  Minnesota  it  is  eight  and  four 
tenths  years.  In  Iowa,  with  its  bunglesome  state  law,  the 
age  of  the  soldiers'  children  is  ten  and  of  the  county  chil- 
dren nine  and  one  tenth  years ;  but  within  two  years  the 
general  average  has  been  reduced  about  one  and  one  half 
years.  Through  efficiency  in  placing  out  its  children,  and 
through  the  policy  of  temporary  maintenance  only,  the 
state  of  Michigan  reduces  the  average  age  of  the  inmates 
of  its  school,  and  also  shortens  the  period  of  deten- 
tion. The  possibilities  of  this  system  are  thereby  demon- 
strated. 


338  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

b.  Placing  Out. 

In  Michigan  the  placing  out  machinery  consists  of  the 
state  agent  and  numerous  county  agents.  When  appH- 
cations  for  children  are  first  received,  the  county  agent  in- 
vestigates the  merits  of  the  applicants.  Some  counties, 
however,  have  no  such  official,  and  the  state  agent  is  there- 
fore required  to  make  the  preliminary  investigations.  In 
case  of  press  of  work  this  imposes  a  hardship  upon  the  state 
agent,  but  the  difficulty  could  be  avoided  by  increasing 
the  force  of  investigators.  On  approval  of  the  home  by 
the  agent,  the  guardian  signs  a  written  agreement  to  care 
for  the  child  according  to  the  requirements  demanded  by 
the  board  of  control.  The  child  is  then  placed  in  the  new 
home,  where  he  is  supervised.  Among  the  official  visitors 
are :  the  county  and  state  agents,  judges  of  probate,  and 
superintendents  of  the  poor.  The  placing-out  methods 
are  very  similar  to  those  of  the  best  private  societies,  and 
so  need  no  further  discussion. 

c.  Results  oj  System. 

Without  doubt  the  state  school  system  has  been  very 
successful.  It  is  true  that  a  number  of  children  must  be 
placed  a  second,  and  some  a  third,  time,  or  even  oftener, 
as  is  the  case  with  private  societies,  but  on  the  whole  splen- 
did results  have  been  achieved.  Minnesota  enjoys  an 
excellent  record,  and  in  Michigan  64  per  cent  of  the  chil- 
dren are  placed  but  once,  while  the  remainder  are  returned 
and  indentured  again.  In  the  latter  state  only  3  per  cent  of 
the  cases  have  resulted  in  failure.  The  remainder  have 
made  fair  or  good  progress.  During  the  years  1874-1908, 
6266  children  were  received  by  the  Michigan  school,  and 
disposed  of  in  various  ways.  Twelve  per  cent  of  the  num- 
ber were  adopted,  nearly  10  per  cent  were  returned  to 
parents,  30  per  cent  have  become  self-supporting,  many 
were  returned  to  the  counties,  and  a  large  percentage  are 
still  wards  of  the  school.     Of  this  aggregate  of  children. 


CHILD-SAVING  AGENCIES.    PUBLIC.  339 

one  half  had  both  parents  living,  37  per  cent  were  half 
orphans,  six  per  cent  were  orphans,  and  the  parental  con- 
dition of  the  remainder  was  unknown.  The  great  bane  of 
these  children  seems  to  have  been  worthless  parents.  A 
large  proportion  of  adoptions  is  impossible  in  the  case  of 
children  who  have  one  or  both  parents  Hving,  because 
prospective  foster  parents  hesitate  to  take  them  for  adop- 
tion and  the  state  naturally  hopes  that  parents  will  even- 
tually resume  their  rightful  obhgations  once  more. 

The  adoption  of  the  state  school  system  naturally  results 
in  state  interest  in  the  work  of  private  child-caring  societies, 
and  paves  the  way  for  state  supervision  of  such  work.  It 
hkewise  raises  the  standard  of  admission  to  private  in- 
stitutions and  tends  to  place  it  on  a  par  with  that  of  the 
state  school.  A  greater  uniformity  in  the  care  of  depend- 
ent children  is  thus  secured.  On  the  whole  the  state 
school  system  has  greatly  increased  the  efficiency  of  the 
work  done  for  dependent  children  in  those  states  in  which  it 
has  been  adopted.  The  poUtical  difficulties  have  not  been 
formidable.  The  use  of  the  state  school  by  private  agencies 
at  first  antagonistic  to  its  methods  and  purposes  has  in- 
creased, better  standards  have  been  set  for  all,  and  a  large 
number  of  children  are  now  being  adequately  cared  for. 
The  proportion  of  dependent  children  has,  on  the  other 
hand,  declined  under  the  operation  of  the  system. 

2.  Boarding  and  Placing-out  Systems. 

a.   Child  Saving  in  New  Jersey. 

In  New  Jersey  the  State  Board  of  Children's  Guardians 
cares  for  dependent  and  neglected  children  and  is  em- 
powered to  place  such  children  in  private  homes  within 
the  state  with  or  without  the  payment  of  board.  In  actual 
practice  more  than  one  half  of  the  737  children  in  the  care 
of  the  state  board  in  1908  were  Hving  in  free  homes.  Such 
children  receive  board,  clothes,  and  the  privilege  of  attend- 


340  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

ing  school.  Children  are  placed  for  adoption,  and  in  such 
cases  the  prospective  parents  pay  the  expenses  involved. 
A  trial  of  six  months  is  necessary  before  the  Orphans* 
Court  and  state  board  will  consent  to  adoption  papers. 
The  children  who  are  boarded  are  maintained  at  a  rate 
of  SI. 50  per  week,  in  addition  to  the  cost  of  clothing  and 
medical  attendance.  Children  over  ten  years  of  age  are 
seldom  placed  at  board,  but  enter  free  homes. 

New  Jersey  has  no  central  institution  to  which  children 
are  sent  pending  their  transferal  to  private  homes.  The 
children  are  taken  directly  from  their  previous  homes, 
from  county  poorhouses,  from  charitable  institutions,  or 
from  temporary  care  in  some  private  denominational  in- 
stitution to  the  homes  that  have  been  secured  for  them. 
The  system  requires  close  cooperation  between  the  eccle- 
siastical institutions  and  the  state  board  of  children's 
guardians.  The  usual  placing-out  machinery  is  provided, 
and  all  wards  must  be  visited  quarterly. 

h.   Methods  in  the  District  of  Columbia. 

A  very  interesting  form  of  work  is  carried  on  by  the 
Board  of  Children's  Guardians  of  the  District  of  Columbia. 
The  board  consists  of  nine  members,  and  handles  found- 
lings and  destitute,  delinquent,  and  feeble-minded  cases. 
Children  may  be  placed  in  free  homes  or  at  board  in  either 
homes  or  institutions.  Ten  dollars  per  month  is  paid 
for  children  boarded  out.  The  smaller  children  are  usually 
placed  in  homes  and  the  older  ones  in  institutions,  but  the 
majority  of  all  children  are  located  in  homes.  They  may 
be  indentured,  apprenticed,  or  placed  on  trial  for  adoption, 
and  children  may  be  controlled  until  their  maj  ority .  Many 
of  the  institutions  utilized  are  in  other  states. 
,    c.    The  Massachusetts  Board  of  Charity. 

Massachusetts  has  assumed  extensive  control  of  the 
children  within  its  borders.  In  1908  the  state  board  of 
charity  had  in  its  custody  3779  dependent,   neglected, 


CHILD- SAVING  AGENCIES.    PUBLIC.  341 

and  delinquent  children.  More  than  2000  of  these  were 
adjudged  neglected. ^  The  children  were  cared  for  in  the 
following  manner :  1210  were  in  families  without  board, 
2316  in  families  with  board,  and  253  were  in  hospitals  or 
institutions,  receiving  special  care.  The  children  are  all 
treated  in  the  same  way,  except  that  some  of  them  are  tem- 
porarily placed  in  homes  maintained  by  the  board,  for  the 
purpose  of  giving  such  training  and  physical  care  as  will 
prepare  them  for  private  homes.  Infants  are  placed  in  fam- 
ily homes  after  careful  investigation  by  the  board.  The 
compensation  allowed  is  $2.75  per  week,  and  material  for 
clothing  is  also  given.  As  the  age  of  the  child  increases, 
the  rate  paid  for  board  is  decreased.  Infants  are  regularly 
and  frequently  visited  by  the  medical  investigators  of  the 
board.  Before  they  are  placed  out,  most  of  the  babies  are 
held  at  a  temporary  boarding  place  where  their  medical 
needs  receive  careful  attention.  Licenses  to  maintain 
boarding  houses  for  infants  are  granted  by  the  board,  and 
in  this  way  a  measure  of  control  is  exercised  over  many 
agencies  supporting  infants.  The  great  majority  of  chil- 
dren are  placed  out  directly.  Boys  are  usually  sent  to 
country  homes,  but  girls  are  generally  retained  in  or  about 
the  towns.  When  children  have  reached  the  age  of  twelve, 
free  homes  are  secured  for  them. 

The  Massachusetts  plan  represents  a  striking  advance 
in  child  saving.  The  board  has  supervision  of  the  children 
in  a  number  of  industrial  and  truant  schools  and  of  more 
than  1000  children  supported  by  the  towns  and  cities. 
More  than  7000  children  are  under  its  care  or  supervision. 
Among  the  valuable  features  of  the  system  are  :  — 

(1)  Supervision  of  the  great  majority  of  dependent,  neg- 
lected, and  delinquent  children  of  the  state. 

(2)  The  policy  of  placuig  out  children,  including  deHn- 
quents. 

I  30th  Annual  Report  of  the  State  Board  of  Charity,  Massachusetts, 
p.  101. 


342  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

(3)  Control  of  boarding  houses  for  infants. 

(4)  Supervision  of  probation  work. 

(5)  Compulsory  reports  to  the  board  from  private  char- 
itable corporations. 

3.  The  County  Home  System. 

The  establishment  of  county  homes  for  dependent  chil- 
dren has  had  a  somewhat  unsuccessful  history  in  Indiana 
and  Ohio.  In  1906  Indiana  had  forty  such  homes  and 
Ohio  had  forty-nine.  These  homes  are  controlled  by  a 
local  board  and  supported  by  the  counties.  Children  are 
not  supposed  to  remain  in  the  almshouses,  and  properly 
belong  to  the  homes,  although  in  some  cases  they  are  placed 
in  private  institutions.  Sometimes  the  almshouse  and 
children's  home  are  controlled  by  the  same  management. 
Some  counties  are  not  provided  with  homes,  but  send  their 
children  to  homes  in  the  adjoining  counties,  and  in  one 
county  the  children  are  boarded  out.  The  homes  are 
usually  small,  and  something  approaching  family  life  is 
often  realized,  but  the  management  is  frequently  ineflS- 
cient  owing  to  the  limited  area  from  which  available  super- 
intendents can  be  secured.  The  system  tends  to  create  a 
large  institutional  population,  and  does  not  foster  good 
placing-out  facilities.  Furthermore,  the  children  remain 
too  long  under  institutional  care.  The  Indiana  system 
is  now  supplemented  by  a  state  placing-out  agency,  and 
state  supervision  of  the  county  homes.^ 

4.  Public  Subsidy  System. 

Public  subsidies  to  private  child-caring  institutions  are 
granted  in  a  number  of  states.  New  York,  however,  has 
proceeded  farther  in  this  direction  than  any  other  state. 
Here  children  are  placed  in  private  institutions,  and  a  sub- 

1  Folks,  Homer,  The  Care  of  Destitute,  Neglected,  and  Delinquent  Chil- 
dren, p.  110. 


CHILD-SAVING  AGENCIES.    PUBLIC.  343 

sidy  is  paid  by  the  town,  city,  or  county  responsible  for  the 
children.  In  its  cruder  form,  the  system  encourages  a 
tremendous  institutional  population,  as  is  evident  from  the 
disproportionate  number  of  children  in  the  institutions  sub- 
sidized in  New  York,  California,  and  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia. State  inspection  of  private  institutions  and  regula- 
tions by  the  state  board  of  charities  tend  to  lessen  the  evils 
of  this  system.  The  homes  for  children  usually  contain 
both  private  and  public  patients,  but  the  majority  belong 
to  the  latter  group.  The  New  York  Foundling  Hospital 
cares  for  nearly  4000  children  per  year,  nearly  all  of  whom 
are  supported  by  the  public.  Nine  tenths  of  the  2500 
children  passing  annually  through  the  Catholic  Protec- 
tory are  public  cases.  Many  of  these  institutions  formerly 
cared  for  delinquent  as  well  as  dependent  and  neglected 
children,  but  the  rules  of  the  board  of  charities  now  re- 
quire an  institution  to  limit  its  care  to  one  of  these  two 
general  classes.  Absolute  comphance  to  these  rules  has, 
however,  not  yet  been  secured. 

Private  institutions  probably  operate  somewhat  cheaper 
than  do  those  directly  maintained  by  the  public.  The 
daily  per  capita  cost  in  representative  homes  in  New  York 
City  varies  from  $.23  to  about  $1,  the  latter  figure  apply- 
ing to  one  of  the  infant  asylums.  The  large  institutional 
population  of  the  states  employing  this  system  indicates 
that  the  plan  tends  to  lessen  the  responsibility  of  parents 
and  also  to  cause  the  states  to  become  neglectful  of  their 
full  duties. 

5.   Public  Care  of  Cruelty  Cases. 

Societies  for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Children  are 
private  organizations,  although  they  usually  rise  to  the 
dignity  of  semi-public  agencies.  Indiana  is  the  only  state 
which  directly  provides  public  machinery  for  the  care  of 
cruelty  cases.    There  the  law  provides  for  boards  of  chil- 


344  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

dren's  guardians  which  may  be  formed  in  each  county. 
These  boards  consist  of  six  persons,  half  of  whom  must  be 
women.  The  board  files  petitions  for  the  custody  of  such 
children  as  need  their  intervention,  and  the  court  transfers 
the  children  to  the  guardianship  of  the  board.  Meanwhile 
the  children  remain  with  their  parents,  except  in  urgent 
cases,  when  they  may  be  taken  away.  The  boards  are 
usually^conservative  and  few  cases  are  lost  to  them  in  court. 
They  have  become  a  valuable  deterrent  of  cruelty,  and 
have  been  able  to  settle  many  cases  without  recourse  to 
legal  process.  The  disposition  of  children  is  made  in 
accordance  with  one  of  three  possible  methods :  first, 
they  may  be  taken  to  board's  homes ;  second,  in  the  ab- 
sence of  board's  homes  they  may  be  committed  to  an 
orphan  asylum  ;  third,  they  may  be  indentured  or  adopted. 
In  most  cases  the  institutional  fife  of  the  child  is  short,  and 
they  find  places  in  individual  homes.  A  recent  law  pro- 
viding for  the  punishment  of  the  parents  or  guardians 
of  neglected  children  increases  the  power  of  the  boards. 
The  system  has  had  marked  success  in  Indiana,  but  so  far 
has  not  been  copied  in  any  other  state. 

6.  The  Future  op  State  Systems. 

^  State  systems  of  caring  for  neglected  and  dependent 
children  are  gradually  encroaching  upon  the  domain  of 
private  philanthropy.  Society  is  rapidly  recognizing  the 
duty  of  the  state  to  these  children,  and  will  soon  demand 
the  rigid  performance  of  this  duty.  The  problem  which 
will  present  itseK  with  increasing  force  is  the  selection  by 
different  states  of  the  system  best  qualified  to  meet  their 
needs.  The  growth  of  state  care  will  gradually  lessen  the 
importance  of  private  and  ecclesiastical  institutions. 
te  At  present  the  majority  of  states  have  no  organized  pub- 
,lic  care  for  dependent  and  neglected  children.  The  state 
school  system  and  the  method  of  direct  placing  out  through 


CHILD-SAVING  AGENCIES.    PUBLIC.  345 

a  state  board  differ  but  little  from  each  other.  Both  em- 
phasize the  placing  out  of  children,  but  the  latter  method 
relies  somewhat  on  the  temporary  use  of  private  institu- 
tions. The  states  now  without  a  pubUc  system  will  even- 
tually choose  one  of  these  two  methods  of  caring  for  their 
dependent  children.  The  county  homes  will  gradually 
disappear,  and  unless  the  present  defects  of  the  subsidy 
system  can  be  removed,  it  will  in  turn  be  replaced  by  one 
of  the  two  state  systems. 


CONCLUSION 


CONCLUSION 

It  is  at  once  evident  that  we  are  not  yet  acquainted  with 
the  volume  of  fundamental  facts  necessary  to  the  formation 
of  permanent  preventive  methods,  and  that  many  of  the 
simplest  analyses  are  still  wanting.  Unless  methods  of 
prevention  are  based  on  correct  principles  the  social  pro- 
gram can  not  be  logical  or  consistent.  A  successful  solu- 
tion of  the  problems  of  children  depends  on  more  social 
research.  The  establishment  of  a  federal  children's  bu- 
reau would  be  a  magnificent  step  in  advance.  Such  a 
bureau  could  investigate  minutely  the  causes  and  pre- 
ventabiUty  of  infant  and  child  mortahty ;  it  could  ob- 
serve the  results  of  specific  social  conditions  ;  it  could  study 
the  problem  of  the  school  child,  why  he  leaves  school,  and 
how  education  can  be  made  adaptable ;  and  it  could  in- 
vestigate many  other  new  questions  connected  with  the 
physical  and  educational  care  of  the  child.  The  bureau  \ 
should  classify  all  trades  in  which  the  employment  of  chil- 
dren is  dangerous,  should  indicate  the  remedies  for  child 
labor,  and  should  suggest  a  definite  program  for  the  lessen- 
ing of  the  evil.  One  of  the  important  problems  to  be 
studied  is  the  moral  development  of  the  child ;  what  are 
the  formative  influences;  how  do  they  act ;  what  part  is 
played  by  amusements,  play,  study,  associates,  surround- 
ings, and  child  labor  ?  What  are  the  necessary  elements 
in  education  in  sex  physiology  ?  What  do  children  know, 
how  have  they  acquired  the  knowledge,  what  is  the  effect, 
what  should  they  know,  and  how  can  the  requisite  knowl- 
edge be  best  diffused?  We  need  to  know  where  the  juve- 
nile offender  comes  from,  whether  heredity  as  an  influence 

349 


350  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

can  be  traced,  whether  the  dechne  of  parental  authority 
increases  dehnquency,  and  how  the  contributing  factors 
operate.  The  results  of  probation  need  more  investiga- 
tion, and  the  relation  of  juvenile  delinquency  to  crime, 
poverty,  pauperism,  and  mendicancy  should  be  deter- 
mined. We  need  to  know  more  of  the  problem  of  physical 
degeneracy,  its  nature  and  its  causes ;  to  what  extent  pre- 
natal conditions  affect  the  growth  and  vigor  of  the  child  ; 
and  what  are  the  influences  of  city  life,  malnutrition,  and 
slum  conditions. 

The  dependent  child  needs  more  attention.  The  in- 
fluence of  orphanages  and  homes  is  capable  of  more  exten- 
sive study.  These  institutions  have  been  condemned  on 
evidence  not  wholly  conclusive,  hence  the  subsequent 
career  of  their  inmates  needs  further  examination.  The 
true  outcome  of  neglect  still  remains  unsolved.  The  re- 
lation of  the  environment  of  youth  to  the  character  and 
disposition  of  the  homeless,  vagrant,  and  unemployable 
class  would  furnish  much  material  for  preventive  philan- 
thropy. Many  other  problems  could  be  suggested,  but 
the  field  is  so  large  that  only  a  brief  summary  of  the  work 
to  be  done  by  a  children's  bureau  or  similar  agency  can 
here  be  outUned. 

The  spirit  of  investigation  is  now  so  strong  that  we  may 
be  very  hopeful  of  the  future,  and  before  long  we  shall  be 
possessed  of  the  facts  necessary  for  our  purpose.  Mean- 
while society  must  apply  itself  to  these  problems  with  all 
earnestness  and  determination.  Our  past  history  is  re- 
plete with  mistakes  and  short-sighted  methods  of  deahng 
with  children,  and  our  ideals  had  not  until  recently  devel- 
oped beyond  that  of  preventive  work.  Our  ignorance  of 
the  content  and  meaning  of  child  life  has  resulted  in  the 
apphcation  of  ruinous  methods  to  thousands  of  children. 
Even  to-day  many  young  people  are  suffering  from  the 
misguided  efforts  of  untrained  men  and  are  deprived  of 


CONCLUSION  351 

opportunities  for  right  living.  Methods  crude,  unscien- 
tific, and  almost  worse  than  useless  have  been  quite  gen- 
erally employed  in  child  saving,  yet  a  humanitarian  motive 
has  prevailed.  Within  twenty-five  years  the  viewpoint 
of  scientific  philanthropy  has  undergone  a  complete  change. 
Remedial  work  —  although  necessary  —  is  now  supple- 
mented with  preventive  methods  and  constructive  work. 
As  much  as  possible  philanthropic  agencies  are  enjoined 
to  assist  in  the  development  of  such  social  reforms  as  will 
remove  the  causes  of  the  child  problems  of  to-day.  It  is 
a  long  step  from  the  imprisonment  of  little  children  to  a 
program  of  wholesome  amusement  to  prevent  dehnquency, 
or  from  the  ignorant  treatment  of  a  sick  infant  to  the  insist- 
ence upon  the  production  of  clean  milk  so  as  to  make 
disease  avoidable. 

Reform  proceeds  gradually,  but,  with  increasing  interest 
in  social  problems,  progress  becomes  rapid  and  cumulative. 
Accordingly,  the  next  twenty-five  years  will  accompHsh 
far  more  than  was  attained  during  the  last  quarter  of  a 
century.  Public  opinion,  however,  must  be  thoroughly 
convinced  of  the  need  of  far-sighted  philanthropy,  and  in 
this  respect  the  reformer  still  meets  with  difiiculties.  That 
careless  milking  means  dying  infants  is  hard  to  beheve; 
that  child  labor  is  harmful  is  quite  incomprehensible  to  the 
farmer  or  the  employer ;  that  the  best  of  care  in  an  insti- 
tution may  mean  total  incapacity  to  sustain  the  shocks  of 
the  external  world  seems  incredible  to  many.  The  con- 
version of  such  classes  is  necessary  in  order  to  hasten  the 
advent  of  the  needed  reforms.  Economic  interests  fre- 
quently oppose  progress  on  selfish  grounds.  The  social 
desirability  of  a  projected  reform  may  be  granted,  but 
selfish  motives  create  overpowering  opposition  and  the 
reform  remains  unaccomplished.  Good  tenement  houses 
are  needed  to  prevent  disease  and  contagion ;  but  land- 
lords   defeat    appropriate    legislation.     Children    should 


352  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

attend  school  rather  than  work,  but  child  labor  bills  fail. 
Again,  individuals  are  influenced  by  prejudice,  by  ancient 
j  methods,  and  by  immediate  considerations,  and  therefore 
do  not  comprehend  the  significance  of  a  constructive  pro- 
gram of  social  betterment.     The  development  in  philan- 
thropic method  has  been  so  rapid  that  many  have  been 
unable  to  keep  pace  with  the  newer  movements.    These 
and  many  other  difficulties  hamper  the  progress  of  reform. 
Within  the  pages  of  this  book  an  attempt  has  been  made 
to  set  forth  both  the  fundamental  and  immediate  causes 
—  as  far  as  they  are  known  —  of  the  phenomena  described. 
The  emphasis  on  causes,  it  is  beheved,  is  justified  because 
adequate  treatment  depends  on  a  satisfactory  diagnosis 
of  the  case.    A  description  and  account  of  conditions  has 
been  added  in  order  to  indicate  the  magnitude  of  the 
problems  treated.     The  discussion  of  methods  of  ameliora- 
tion and  control  necessarily  requires  a  large  share  of  atten- 
tion, owing  to  the  prominence  of  this  phase  of  social  reform. 
I  The  work  of  to-day  is  important,  for  upon  its  foundation 
I  will  be  built  the  more  substantial  methods  of  to-morrow. 
t  Criticism  of  method  is  needed  to  create  sentiment  in  favor 
i  of  the  most  capable  management  of  existing  agencies. 
Finally,  the  presentation  of  a  constructive  program  wher- 
ever possible  completes  the  elaboration  of  each  subject. 
This  portion  of  the  discussion  should  be  of  the  greatest 
importance  because  it  considers  the  problems  of  the  com- 
ing generations  who  gain  or  lose  according  to  the  degree 
of  enlightenment  exhibited  in  the  social  program  of  the 
present. 


APPENDIX 


APPENDIX 

The  following  Principles  were  affirmed  at  the  White 
House  Conference  on  Dependent  Children  held  in  1909. 

I.  Home  Care. 

Home  life  is  the  highest  and  j&nest  product  of  civilization. 
It  is  the  great  molding  force  of  mind  and  character. 
Children  should  not  be  deprived  of  it  except  for  urgent  and 
compelling  reasons.  Children  of  parents  of  worthy  char- 
acter, suffering  from  temporary  misfortune,  and  children 
of  reasonably  efficient  and  deserving  mothers  who  are 
without  the  support  of  the  normal  bread  winner  should, 
as  a  rule,  be  kept  with  their  parents,  such  aid  being  given 
as  may  be  necessary  to  maintain  suitable  homes  for  the 
rearing  of  the  children.  This  aid  should  be  given  by  such 
methods  and  from  such  sources  as  may  be  determined  by 
the  general  rehef  poUcy  of  each  community,  preferably 
in  the  form  of  private  charity,  rather  than  of  pubHc  rehef. 
Except  in  unusual  circumstances,  the  home  should  not 
be  broken  up  for  reasons  of  poverty,  but  only  for  con- 
siderations of  inefficiency  or  immoraUty. 

II.  Preventive  Work. 

The  most  important  and  valuable  philanthropic  work 
is  not  the  curative,  but  the  preventive ;  to  check  depen- 
dency by  a  thorough  study  of  its  causes  and  by  effectively 
remedying  or  eradicating  them,  should  be  the  constant  aim 
of  society.  Along  these  hnes  we  urge  upon  all  friends 
of  children  the  promotion  of  effective  measures  including 
legislation :  to  prevent  bhndness ;  to  check  tuberculosis 
and  other  diseases  in  dwellings  and  work  places,  and  in- 

355 


356  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

juries  in  hazardous  occupations ;  to  secure  compensation 
or  insurance  so  as  to  provide  a  family  income  in  case  of 
sickness,  accident,  death,  or  invalidism  of  the  breadwinner ; 
to  promote  child-labor  reforms,5and,  generally,  to  improve 
the  conditions  surrounding  child-life.  To  secure  these 
ends  we  urge  efficient  cooperation  with  all  other  agencies  for 
social  betterment. 

III.  Home  Finding. 

As  to  the  children  who  for  sufficient  reasons  must  be 
removed  from  their  own  homes,  or  who  have  no  homes, 
it  is  desirable  that,  if  normal  in  mind  and  body,  and  not 
requiring  special  training,  they  should  be  cared  for  in  fam- 
ilies whenever  practicable.  The  carefully  selected  foster 
home  is  for  the  normal  child  the  best  substitute  for  the 
natural  home.  Such  homes  should  be  selected  by  a  most 
careful  process  of  investigation,  carried  on  by  skilled 
agents,  through  personal  investigation,  and  with  due  regard 
to  the  rehgious  faith  of  the  child.  After  children  are 
placed  in  homes,  adequate  visitation,  with  careful  con- 
sideration of  the  physical,  mental,  moral,  and  spiritual 
training  and  development  of  each  child,  on  the  part  of  the 
responsible  home-finding  agency,  is  essential. 

It  is  recognized  that  for  many  children  foster  homes 
without  payment  for  board  are  not  practicable  immedi- 
ately after  the  children  become  dependent,  and  that  for 
children  requiring  temporary  care  only  the  free  home  is 
not  available.  For  the  temporary  or  more  or  less  per- 
manent care  of  such  children  different  methods  are  in 
use,  notably  the  plan  of  placing  them  in  families,  paying 
for  their  board,  and  the  plan  of  institutional  care.  Con- 
tact with  family  hfe  is  preferable  for  these  children,  as  well 
as  for  other  normal  children.  It  is  necessary,  however, 
that  a  large  number  of  carefully  selected  boarding  homes 
be  found  if  these  children  are  to  be  cared  for  in  famihes. 


APPENDIX  357 

The  extent  to  which  such  families  can  be  found  should 
be  ascertained  by  careful  inquiry  and  experiment  in  each 
locality.  Unless  and  until  such  homes  are  foimd,  the  use 
of  institutions  is  necessary. 

IV.  Cottage  System. 

So  far  as  it  may  be  found  necessary  temporarily  or  per- 
manently to  care  for  certain  classes  of  children  in  institu- 
tions, these  institutions  should  be  conducted  on  the  cottage 
plan,  in  order  that  routine  and  impersonal  care  may  not 
unduly  suppress  individuahty  and  initiative.  The  cottage 
unit  should  not  be  larger  than  will  permit  effective  personal 
relations  between  the  adult  caretaker  or  caretakers  of  each 
cottage  and  each  child  therein.  Twenty-five  is  suggested 
as  a  desirable  cottage  unit,  subject  to  revision  in  the  hght 
of  further  experience  in  the  management  of  cottage  insti- 
tutions. The  cottage  plan  is  probably  somewhat  more 
expensive,  both  in  construction  and  in  maintenance,  than 
the  congregate  system.  It  is  so,  however,  only  because 
it  secures  for  the  children  a  larger  degree  of  association  with 
adults,  and  a  nearer  approach  to  the  conditions  of  family 
life,  which  are  required  for  the  proper  molding  of  childhood. 
These  results  more  than  justify  the  increased  outlay,  and 
are  truly  economical.  Child-caring  agencies,  whether 
supported  by  pubHc  or  private  funds,  should  by  all  legiti- 
mate means  press  for  adequate  financial  support.  In- 
ferior methods  should  never  be  accepted  by  reason  of  lack 
of  funds  without  continuing  protest.  Cheap  care  of  chil- 
dren is  ultimately  enormously  expensive,  and  is  unworthy 
of  a  strong  community.  Existing  congregate  institutions 
should  so  classify  their  inmates  and  segregate  them  into 
groups  as  to  secure  as  many  of  the  benefits  of  the  cottage 
system  as  possible,  and  should  look  forward  to  the  adoption 
of  the  cottage  type  when  new  buildings  are  constructed. 

The  sending  of  children  of  any  age  or  class  to  almshouses 


358  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

is  an  unqualified  evil,  and  should  be  forbidden  everywhere 
by  law,  with  suitable  penalty  for  its  violation. 

V.  Incorporation. 

To  engage  in  the  work  of  caring  for  needy  children  is  to 
assume  a  most  serious  responsibility,  and  should,  therefore, 
be  permitted  only  to  those  who  are  definitely  organized 
for  the  purpose,  who  are  of  suitable  character,  and  possess, 
or  have  reasonable  assurance  of  securing,  the  funds  needed 
for  their  support.  The  only  practicable  plan  of  securing 
this  end  is  to  require  the  approval,  by  a  State  Board  of 
Charities  or  other  body  exercising  similar  powers,  of  the 
incorporation  of  all  child-caring  agencies,  including  the 
approval  of  any  amendments  of  the  charter  of  a  benevo- 
lent corporation,  if  it  is  to  include  child-caring  work ;  and 
by  forbidding  other  than  duly  incorporated  agencies  to 
engage  in  the  care  of  needy  children. 

VI.  State  Inspection. 

The  proper  training  of  destitute  children  being  essential 
to  the  well-being  of  the  state,  it  is  a  sound  public  policy 
that  the  state,  through  its  duly  authorized  representative, 
should  inspect  the  work  of  all  agencies  which  care  for  de- 
pendent children,  whether  by  institutional  or  by  home- 
finding  methods,  and  whether  supported  by  public  or  pri- 
vate funds.  Such  inspection  should  be  made  by  trained 
agents,  should  be  thorough,  and  the  results  thereof  should 
be  reported  to  the  responsible  authorities  of  the  institution 
or  agency  concerned.  The  information  so  secured  should 
be  confidential,  not  to  be  disclosed  except  by  competent 
authority. 

VII.  Inspection  of  Educational  Work. 

Destitute  children  at  best  labor  under  many  disadvan- 
tages, and  are  deprived  in  greater  or  less  degree  of  the 
assistance  and  guidance  which  parents  afford  their  own 


APPENDIX  359 

children.  It  is  important,  therefore,  that  such  children 
be  given  an  education  which  will  fit  them  for  self-support 
and  for  the  duties  of  citizenship,  and  the  state  should  pro- 
vide therefor.  In  order  that  this  education  may  be  equal  to 
that  afforded  by  the  schools  attended  by  the  other  children 
of  the  community,  it  is  desirable  that  the  education  of 
children  in  orphan  asylums  and  other  similar  institutions 
or  placed  in  famiUes  should  be  under  the  supervision  of  the 
educational  authorities  of  the  state. 

VIII.  Facts  and  Records. 

The  proper  care  of  a  child  in  the  custody  of  a  child-caring 
agency,  as  well  as  the  wise  decision  as  to  the  period  of  his 
retention  and  ultimate  disposition  to  be  made  of  him,  in- 
volve a  knowledge  of  the  character  and  circumstances  of 
his  parents,  or  surviving  parent,  and  near  relatives,  both 
before  and  at  the  time  the  child  becomes  dependent,  and 
subsequently.  One  unfortunate  feature  of  child-caring 
work  hitherto  is  the  scanty  information  available  as  to  the 
actual  careers  of  children  who  have  been  reared  under  the 
care  of  charitable  agencies.  This  appHes  both  to  institu- 
tions, which  too  frequently  lose  sight  of  the  children  soon 
after  they  leave  their  doors,  and  home-finding  agencies, 
which  too  frequently  have  failed  to  exercise  supervision  ade- 
quate to  enable  them  to  judge  of  the  real  results  of  their 
work.  It  is  extremely  desirable  that,  taking  all  precautions 
to  prevent  injury  or  embarrassment  to  those  who  have 
been  the  subjects  of  charitable  care,  the  agencies  which 
have  been  responsible  for  the  care  of  children  should  know 
to  what  station  in  life  they  attain  and  what  sort  of  citizens 
they  become.  Only  in  this  manner  can  they  form  a  cor- 
rect judgment  of  the  results  of  their  efforts. 

We  believe,  therefore,  that  every  child-caring  agency 
should  — 

1.  Secure   full   information   concerning   the   character 


360  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

and  circunistances  of  the  parents  and  near  relatives  of  each 
child  in  whose  behalf  application  is  made,  through  personal 
investigation  by  its  own  representative,  unless  adequate 
information  is  supplied  by  some  other  rehable  agency. 

2.  Inform  itself  by  personal  investigation  at  least  once 
each  year  of  the  circumstances  of  the  parents  of  children  in 
its  charge,  unless  the  parents  have  been  legally  deprived 
of  guardianship,  and  unless  this  information  is  supplied 
by  some  other  responsible  agency. 

3.  Exercise  supervision  over  children  under  their  care 
until  such  children  are  legally  adopted,  are  returned  to 
their  parents,  attain  their  majority,  or  are  clearly  beyond 
the  need  of  further  supervision. 

.  4.  Make  a  permanent  record  of  all  information  thus 
secured. 

IX.  Physical  Care. 

The  physical  condition  of  children  who  become  the 
subjects  of  charitable  care  has  received  inadequate  consid- 
eration. Each  child  received  into  the  care  of  such  an 
agency  should  be  carefully  examined  by  a  competent 
physician,  especially  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  whether 
such  peculiarities,  if  any,  as  the  child  presents  may  be  due 
to  any  defect  of  the  sense  organs  or  to  other  physical 
defect.  Both  institutions  and  placing-out  agencies  should 
take  every  precaution  to  secure  proper  medical  and  sur- 
gical care  of  their  children,  and  should  see  that  suitable  in- 
struction is  given  them  in  matters  of  health  and  hygiene. 

X.  Cooperation. 

Great  benefit  can  be  derived  from  a  close  cooperation  be- 
tween the  various  child-caring  agencies,  institutional  and 
otherwise,  in  each  locahty.  It  is  especially  desirable  that 
harmonious  relations  be  established  in  regard  to  the  classes 
of  children  to  be  received  by  each  agency,  the  relations  of 


APPENDIX  361 

such  agencies  to  the  parents  of  children  received,  and  the 
subsequent  oversight  of  children  passing  from  the  custody 
of  child-caring  agencies.  The  establishment  of  a  joint 
bureau  of  investigation  and  information  by  all  the  child- 
caring  agencies  of  each  locality  is  highly  commended,  in 
the  absence  of  any  other  suitable  central  agency  through 
which  they  may  cooperate. 

XI.  Undesikable  Legislation. 

We  greatly  deprecate  the  tendency  of  legislation  in  some 
states  to  place  unnecessary  obstacles  in  the  way  of  placing 
children  in  family  homes  in  such  states  by  agencies  whose 
headquarters  are  elsewhere,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  we 
favor  the  care  of  destitute  children,  normal  in  mind  and 
body,  in  famihes,  whenever  practicable. 

We  recognize  the  right  of  each  state  to  protect  itself 
from  vicious,  diseased,  or  defective  children  from  other 
states  by  the  enactment  of  reasonable  protective  legisla- 
tion ;  but  experience  proves  that  the  reception  of  healthy 
normal  children  is  not  only  an  act  of  philanthropy,  but 
also  secures  a  valuable  increment  to  the  population  of 
the  community  and  an  ultimate  increase  of  its  wealth. 

The  people  of  the  more  prosperous  and  less  congested 
districts  owe  a  debt  of  hospitaHty  to  the  older  commu- 
nities from  which  many  of  them  come. 

We  earnestly  protest,  therefore,  against  such  legislation 
as  is  prohibitive  in  form  or  in  effect,  and  urge  that  where 
it  exists  it  be  repealed. 

XII.  Permanent  Organization. 

The  care  of  dependent  children  is  a  subject  about  which 
nearly  every  session  of  the  legislature  of  every  state  in  the 
Union  concerns  itself  ;  it  is  a  work  in  which  state  and  local 
authorities  in  many  states  are  engaged,  and  in  which 
private  agencies  are  active  in  every  state.     Important 


362  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

decisions  are  being  made  constantly  by  associations  and 
public  authorities  affecting  questions  of  policy,  the  type  of 
buildings  to  be  constructed,  the  establishment  of  an  ade- 
quate system  of  investigating  homes  and  visiting  children 
placed  in  homes,  and  scores  of  important  matters  affecting 
the  well-being  of  needy  children.  Each  of  these  decisions 
should  be  made  with  full  knowledge  of  the  experience  of 
other  states  and  agencies,  and  of  the  trend  of  opinion  among 
those  most  actively  engaged  in  the  care  of  children,  and 
able  to  speak  from  wide  experience  and  careful  observation. 
One  effective  means  of  securing  this  result  would  be  the 
establishment  of  a  permanent  organization  to  undertake, 
in  this  field,  work  comparable  to  that  carried  on  by  the 
National  Playground  Association,  the  National  Associa- 
tion for  the  Study  and  Prevention  of  Tuberculosis,  the 
National  Child  Labor  Committee,  and  other  similar  or- 
ganizations in  their  respective  fields.  It  is  our  judgment 
that  the  estabUshment  of  such  a  permanent  voluntary 
organization,  under  auspices  which  would  insure  a  careful 
consideration  of  all  points  of  view,  broad-mindedness  and 
tolerance,  would  be  desirable  and  helpful,  if  reasonably 
assured  of  adequate  financial  support. 

XIII.  Federal  Children's  Bureau. 

A  bill  is  pending  in  Congress  for  the  establishment  of  a 
Federal  Children's  Bureau  to  collect  and  disseminate  in- 
formation affecting  the  weffare  of  children.  In  our  judg- 
ment the  establishment  of  such  a  bureau  is  desirable,  and 
we  earnestly  recommend  the  enactment  of  the  pending 
measure. 

XIV.  Summary. 

The  preceding  suggestions  may  be  abnost  completely 
summarized  in  this,  —  that  the  particular  condition  and 
needs  of  each  child  should  be  carefully  studied  and  that  he 


APPENDIX  363 

should  receive  that  care  and  treatment  which  his  individual 
needs  require,  and  which  should  be  as  nearly  as  possible 
like  the  life  of  the  other  children  of  the  community. 

XV. 

We  respectfully  recommend  that  you  send  to  Congress 
a  message  urging  favorable  action  upon  the  bill  for  a  Fed- 
eral Children's  Bureau  and  the  enactment  of  such  legis- 
lation as  will  bring  the  laws  and  the  pubHc  administra- 
tion of  the  District  of  Columbia  and  other  federal  territory 
into  harmony  with  the  principles  and  conclusions  herein 
stated,  and  we  further  recommend  that  you  cause  to  be 
transmitted  to  the  governor  of  each  state  in  the  Union 
a  copy  of  the  proceedings  of  this  conference  for  the  infor- 
mation of  the  State  Board  of  Charities  or  other  body  exer- 
cising similar  powers. 


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364 


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N.C.C.C.     1904. 

LiNDSEY,  Ben.  Recent  Progress  of  the  Juvenile  Court  Move- 
ment.   N.C.C.C.     1905. 

Mack,  Julian  W.  The  Juvenile  Court;  the  Judge  and  the 
Probation  Officer.    N.C.C.C.     1906. 

Montgomery,  Mrs.  Alice  B.  The  Child  of  the  Juvenile 
Court.    N.C.C.C.     1905. 

New  York  State  Probation  Commission.    Annual  Reports  of. 

NiBECKER,  F.  H.  The  Forward  Movement  in  Boarding  Schools 
for  Delinquents.    N.C.C.C.     1904. 

.    The  Mental  Capacity  of  Juvenile  Delinquents.    N.C.C.C. 

1901. 

Reports  of  Institutions  for  Delinquent  Children. 

Reports  of  Juvenile  Courts  of  Cities. 

Richman,  Julia.  The  Incorrigible  Child.  Nat.  Educ.  Assn. 
1907. 


372  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

Rogers,  Mrs.  Helen  W.  The  Probation  System  of  the  Juve- 
nile Court  of  IndianapoUs.    N.C.C.C.     1904. 

Stubbs,  George  B.  The  Mission  of  the  Juvenile  Court. 
N.C.C.C.     1904. 

Survey,  The.  (Number  on  Ten  Years  of  the  Juvenile  Court.) 
Feb.  5,  1910. 

Thurston,  H.  W.  "What  shall  a  Probation  Officer  do  for  the 
Child?"    Chanties  and  Commons.    Vol.  XXL 

Wade,  F.  E.  The  Prosecution  of  Parents  for  the  DeHnquencies 
of  their  Children.     N.C.C.C.     1909. 

Wentworth,  Edwin  P.  The  Origin  and  Development  of  the 
Juvenile  Reformatory.  N.C.C.C.  1901.  (Committee  Re- 
port.) 

The  Dependent  and  Neglected  Child 

Bureau  of  Census.    Benevolent  Institutions  in  the  U.  S.    1904, 

'"^    Washington.     1905. 

Devine,  E.  T.    Principles  of  ReUef.     New  York.     1904. 

Folks,  Homer.  The  Care  of  Destitute,  Neglected,  and  Delin- 
quent Children.    New  York.     1902. 

Henderson,  C.  R.  Dependents,  Defectives,  Delinquents. 
Boston.     1901. 

.     Modern  Methods  of  Charity.     New  York.     1904. 

International  Congress  of  Charities.  The  Care  of  Dependent, 
Neglected,  and  Wayward  Children.     Baltimore.     1893. 

Proceedings  of  the  Conference  on  the  Care  of  Dependent  Chil- 
dren.    1909.     (White  House  Conference.) 

Reeder,  R.  R.  How  Two  Hundred  Children  Live  and  Learn. 
New  York.      1909. 

Warner,  Amos.  American  Charities,  New  York.  1908. 
(Revised.) 

Butler,     Amos.      Saving     the     Children.     N.C.C.C.      1901. 

(Committee  Report.) 
Byers,   Jos.   P.     The    County  Homes    in    Ohio.     N.C.C.C. 

1901. 
Carstens,  C.   C.    The   Breaking   up  of   Families.    N.C.C.C. 

1909. 


SELECTED  BIBLIOGRAPHY  373 

Gushing,  Grafton  D.  Work  of  the  Societies  for  the  Preven- 
tion of  Cruelty  to  Children  Essential  in  the  Prevention  of 
Crime.     N.C.C.C.     1906. 

DuRAND,  George  H.  The  Study  of  the  Child  from  the  Stand- 
point of  the  Home-Finding  Agency.     N.C.C.C.     1907. 

Ellison,  T.  E.  Child-Saving  under  State  Supervision  without 
a  State  School.    N.C.C.C.     1901. 

Evans,  Mrs.  Glendower.  What  do  you  know  of  the  Children 
after  they  leave  your  Home  or  Institution  ?  Do  you  Super- 
vise Them?    N.C.C.C.     1907. 

Faulkner,  C.  E.  Institutional  Care  for  Dependent  Children. 
N.C.C.C.     1904. 

Fox,  Hugh  F.  Boards  of  Children's  Guardians.  N.C.C.C. 
1904. 

Hart,  H.  H.  The  Economic  Aspects  of  the  Child  Problem. 
N.C.C.C.     1892. 

.    Children.      N.C.C.C.     1906.      (Committee  Report.) 

Henderson,  C.  R.  Neglected  Children  in  Neglected  Com- 
munities.   N.C.C.C.     1901. 

Jacobs,  Bertha.    The  Work  of  One  State.    N.C.C.C.     1904. 

Kelso,  J.  J.  What  Ontario  is  doing  for  Children.  N.C.C.C. 
1909. 

KiNKEAD,  L.  L.  State  Supervision  of  Dependent  Children. 
N.C.C.C.     1904. 

Montgomery,  J.  B.  The  Michigan  System  of  Child  Saving. 
N.C.C.C.     1904. 

MuLRY,  T.  M.  The  Care  of  Destitute  and  Neglected  Chil- 
dren.   N.C.C.C.     1899.     (Committee   Report.) 

Pear,  Wm.  H.  The  Full  Measure  of  Responsibility.  N.C.C.C. 
1906. 

Randall,  C.  D.  Child-Saving  Work  under  State  Supervision 
with  a  State  School.     N.C.C.C.     1901. 

Reeder,  R.  R.  Study  of  the  Child  from  the  Institutional 
Standpoint.    N.C.C.C.     1907. 

Reports. 
Children's  Aid  and  Home-Finding  Societies. 
Societies  for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Children. 
State  PubUc  Schools. 


374  CHILD  PROBLEMS 

State  Boards  of  Charities  and  Boards  of  Children's  Guardians 
Private  Institutions  for  Dependent  and  Neglected    Children. 
Williams,  Mornay.    The  Street  Boy.    Who   he  is,  and  what 
to  do  with  him.    N.C.C.C.    1903. 

Much  miscellaneous  literature  on  this  subject  is  found  in 
N.C.C.C,  in  the  Reports  of  State  Conferences  of  Charities  and 
Correction,  and  in  the  Survey. 


INDEX 


Accidents,  to  children  in  industry, 
193. 

Adoption,  of  children,  321. 

Affidavits,  to  secure  working  pa- 
pers, 208. 

Age,  of  children  at  work,  176;  re- 
strictions on,  in  child  labor  laws, 
207. 

Agriculture,  child  labor  in,  170; 
negro  children  employed  in,  175. 

Almshouses,  children  in,  310. 

Antitoxin,  use  of,  50. 

Appendix,  355. 

Applicants  for  children,  investiga- 
tion of,  316;  agreements  with, 
317. 

Apprentice  system,  attitude  of 
manufacturers  toward,  148;  de- 
cline of,  147. 

Artificial  foods,  avoidance  of,  80. 

Attendance,  compulsory  school,  286. 

Backward  children,  definition  of, 
128 ;  medical  inspection  of,  136 ; 
needs  of,  135 ;  number  of,  129 ; 
organization  of  special  classes 
for,  137 ;  Philadelphia  committee 
on,  129 ;  trained  teachers  for, 
137 ;  work  for,  in  Germany,  132, 
in  England,  133,  in  United 
States,  134. 

Backwardness,  causes  of,  130; 
Gulick  and  Ayres  on,  131. 

Baldwin,  R.  N.,  256. 

Bibliography,  364. 

Birth  rates,  decline  of,  30 ;  excess 
of,  over  deaths  in  Europe,  31. 

Boarding  out,  315;  in  New  Jersey, 
339 ;   system  of,  339. 

Boys'clubs,  277 ;  influence  of,  278 ; 
types  of,  278. 

Breast  feeding,  63 ;  diarrheal  dis- 
eases lessened  by,  65. 

Bronchitis,  54. 


Buffalo,  volunteer  probation  officers 

in,  253. 
Burns,  Allen  T.,  281. 

Canning  industry,  child  labor  in, 
176;  exempted  from  child  labor 
laws,  163,  212. 

Carstens,  C.  C,  326. 

Chicago,  civic  centers  in,  109,  281 ; 
milk  tests  in,  69;  use  of  anti- 
toxin in,  50. 

Chicago  Boys'  Club,  279. 

Child,  injured  by  premature  em- 
ployment, 184 ;  effect  on,  of  night 
work,  188 ;  physical  develop- 
ment of,  182 ;  physical  require- 
ments of,  183  ;   rights  of,  5. 

Child  labor,  159 ;  age  distribution 
of,  177;  among  foreign  born, 
176;  caused  by,  ambition  of 
child,  161,  competitive  condi- 
tions, 165,  greed  of  employers, 
162,  immigration,  160,  indiffer- 
ence of  public,  167,  machinery, 
165,  newspapers,  164,  parental 
greed,  159;  conditions  of,  170; 
economic  disadvantages  of,  192; 
evolution  of,  191 ;  hours  of,  205; 
industries  employing,  mentioned, 
agriculture,  171,  canning  indus- 
try, 176,  coal  mines,  175, 
cotton  mills,  174,  glasshouses, 
179,  silk  mills,  176,  street 
trades,  179 ;  moral  effects  of, 
196 ;  numerical  importance  of, 
171 ;  occupational  distribution 
of,  171 ;  physical  effects  of,  184 ; 
physiological  aspects  of,  182; 
social  costs  of,  195 ;  territorial 
distribution  of,  175 ;  training  of 
child  prevented  by,  195 ;  under 
the  domestic  system,  192. 

Child  labor  legislation,  201 ;  age 
limits  provided  by,  207;    agen- 


375 


376 


INDEX 


cies  supporting,  201 ;  dangerous 
occupations  and,  211;  educa- 
tional requirements  in,  209  ; 
enforcement  of,  214 ;  evolution 
of,  201 ;  industries  exempted 
by,  212 ;  negligence  of  federal 
government  in  reference  to,  203  ; 
requirements  of  model,  204; 
uniformity  in,  203 ;  weaknesses 
of,  216;  working  papers  under, 
208. 

Child  life,  waste  of,  22,  59. 

Child  mortality,  economic  costs  of, 
24 ;  physiological  costs  of,  26 ; 
social  costs  of,  29 ;  see  also 
Infant  mortality. 

Child  problems,  and  environment, 
2  ;  and  heredity,  1 ;  importance 
of,  1. 

Child  saving,  cooperation  in,  308, 
in  Philadelphia,  309;  foster 
homes  and,  305,  315;  home  ties 
and,  304 ;  methods  of  private, 
312 ;  methods  of  public,  335, 
boarding-out  system,  339,  county 
home  system,  342,  state  school 
system,  335,  subsidy  system, 
342 ;  principles  of,  304 ;  relation 
of,  to  institutional  care,  303 ; 
state  supervision  of  private  agen- 
cies engaged  in,  307. 

Childhood,  social  obligations  to,  5. 

Children,  defects  among,  119,  124; 
desire  of,  to  work,  161 ;  dwarfing 
of,  in  the  slums,  96;  moral 
classification  of,  223 ;  not  im- 
moral, 261 ;  untrained,  in  indus- 
try, 145. 

Children  in  industry,  age  of,  176 ; 
earning  power  of,  194;  home 
work  of,  180;  inadequate  train- 
ing of,  145,  192 ;  literacy  of, 
178;  night  work  of,  178;  over- 
time work  of,  180 ;  unheal thful 
occupations  of,  185. 

Children's  Aid  Society,  incompetent 
management  of,  322 ;  investiga- 
tions by,  316  ;  methods  of,  313  ; 
nature  of,  312 ;  principles  of 
Pennsylvania,  313 ;  reforms  in, 
322 ;  supervision  of  children  by, 
318;  work  of  New  York,  314. 


Children's  bureau,  in  Philadelphia, 
309 ;   proposed  federal,  349. 

Children's  courts;  see  Juvenile 
courts. 

Children's  home-finding  society ; 
see  Children's  aid  society. 

Cities,  mortality  in,  40. 

City  life,  as  cause  of  juvenile  delin- 
quency, 225. 

Civic  centers,  of  Chicago,  109,  281 ; 
prevention  of  juvenile  delin- 
quency by,  280. 

Clinics  for  babies,  76. 

Clubs,  need  of,  277. 

Coal  mines,  children  employed  in, 
176. 

Compulsory  education,  laws  for, 
defective,  145 ;  need  of,  144. 

Contributory  delinquency  laws, 
provisions  of,  284 ;  purpose  of, 
283 ;  responsibility  of  parents 
enforced  by,  284 ;  states  having, 
284  note. 

Convulsions,  57. 

Cooperation,  in  child  saving,  308. 

Cottage  system,  cost  of,  267;  use 
of,  267,  306. 

Cotton  mills,  child  labor  in,  174; 
night  work  in,  179. 

County  home  system,  342. 

Cruelty,  parental,  children  re- 
moved from  home  because  of, 
296 ;  juvenile  delinquency  caused 
by,  229. 

Cruelty  cases,  public  care  of,  343. 

Dairies,  inspection  of,  77. 

Dance  halls,  282. 

Dangerous  occupations,  classifica- 
tion of,  211. 

Day  nursery,  84. 

Death  rates,  decline  of,  16;  in 
London,  16. 

Defective  children,  310. 

Degeneracy,  physical,  relation  of, 
to  child  mortality,  32. 

Delinquency,  among  children  in 
street  trades,  196 ;  nature  of 
juvenile,  221. 

Delinquent ;  see  Juvenile  delinquent. 

Delinquent  girl,  problem  of  the, 
266. 


INDEX 


377 


Denver,  judge  as  probation  officer 
in,  253 ;  juvenile  court  in,  236 ; 
juvenile  improvement  associa- 
tion in,  276. 

Dependency  of  children,  abnormal 
family  conditions  affect,  299; 
causes  of,  desertion  of  father, 
300,  improper  guardianship,  300, 
intemperance,  297,  large  fami- 
lies, 298 ;  German  statistics  on, 
297 ;  preventability  of,  297. 

Dependent  children,  in  family 
homes,  302  ;  in  institutions,  301  ; 
in  New  York,  301 ;  number  of, 
302 ;   types  of,  294. 

Desertion,  dependency  of  children 
caused  by,  300. 

Detention  home,  263. 

Devine,  E.  T.,  305. 

Diarrheal  diseases,  deaths  from,  55 ; 
distribution  of,  by  months,  56 ; 
in  cities,  55 ;  in  rural  districts,  55. 

Diphtheria,  50, 

Diseases,  children's,  49 ;  deaths 
from,  in  England,  58 ;  immunity 
from  various,  33 ;  proportionate 
mortality  from  children's,  58. 

District  of  Columbia,  child  saving 
in,  340. 

Domestic  science,  85,  151. 

Domestic  service,  child  labor  in,  171. 

Ecclesiastical  institutions,  330. 

Education,  and  child  labor,  145 ; 
and  illiteracy,  140 ;  compulsory, 
144,  exemptions  from,  145, 
non-enforcement  of,  145,  number 
states  having,  144,  relation  of, 
to  child  labor,  146 ;  in  sex  physi- 
ology, 154;  industrial,  absence 
of,  145 ;  limitations  of,  143 ; 
literary,  141 ;  need  of,  147 ;  of 
boys  in  hygiene,  86 ;  of  girls  for 
motherhood,  85 ;  parental,  to 
reduce  infant  mortality,  81. 

Educational  requirements  in  child 
labor  laws,  209. 

Educational  system,  faults  of,  147. 

Employers,  child  labor  caused  by 
greed  of,  162. 

Enforcement  of  child  labor  laws, 
214. 


Environment,    importance    of,    in 

causing     juvenile     delinquency, 

229 ;  influence  of,  2. 
Erfurt,  infant  mortality  in,  42, 
Expectation  of  life,  25  ;    increase  of, 

25;   in  Massachusetts,  26. 
Exploitation  of  children,  cause   of, 

160. 

Factories,  moral  effect  of  work  in, 

199 ;  night  work  in,  178,  199. 
Factory  inspector,  215. 
Fall  River,  41 ;    diarrheal  diseases 

in,  55 ;    married  women  at  work 

in,  90. 
Farr,  Dr.,  conclusions  of,  on  infant 

mortality,  60. 
Federal  child  labor  bill,  203. 
Federal  children's  bureau,  proposed, 

349. 
Federal  government,  neglect  of,  in 

regard  to  child  labor  legislation, 

203. 
Fiske,    John,    on    prolongation    of 

childhood,  3. 
Folks,  Homer,  315. 
Foster  home,  305, 
Foundling  asylums,  333  ;   mortality 

in,  333. 
Foundlings,  294,  333. 

Geneva,  expectation  of  life  in,  25. 
Girls,  effect  of  child  labor  on,  185. 
Glasshouses,    heat    in,   187;    night 

shifts  in,  179. 
Gulick  and  Ayres,  on  retardation  of 

school  children,  131. 

Hearings,  of  juvenile  court,  237. 

Heredity,  and  child  problems,  1 ; 
and  juvenile  delinquency,  232. 

Home,  the  foster,  305 ;  place  of,  in 
child  saving,  293. 

Home  conditions,  and  juvenile 
delinquency,  225. 

Home  work,  children  engaged  in, 
180 ;   evils  of,  181, 

Hours  of  labor,  205. 

Housing,  relation  of,  to  infant  mor- 
tality, 66. 

Huddersfield,  infant  mortality  in, 
21,  82. 

Humane  society,  324. 


378 


INDEX 


Illegitimate  children,  in  the  United 
States,  294. 

Illinois,  child  labor  law  in,  205; 
duties  of  probation  oflBicers  in, 
246. 

Illiteracy,  in  Europe,  140;  in  the 
United  States,  141 ;  of  the  immi- 
grant, 141 ;  of  the  negro,  142. 

Immigrant,  illiteracy  of,  141. 

Immigration,  child  labor  caused  by, 
160. 

Immunity  from  disease,  33. 

Indeterminate  sentence,  in  re- 
formatory institutions,  273. 

Indiana,  county  home  system  in, 
342 ;  state  supervision  of  child- 
caring  agencies  in,  307. 

Indianapolis,  volunteer  probation 
system  in,  252. 

Industrial  schools,  conducted  by 
the  New  York  Children's  Aid 
Society,  315;  function  of,  265; 
parental  conditions  of  children 
in,  227;  parental  support  for 
children  in,  285. 

Industrial  training,  in  reformatory 
institutions,  269;  need  of,  147; 
private,  153 ;  public  instruction 
in,  149 ;  report  on,  to  New  York 
Board  of  Education,  150;  value 
of,  147. 

Industries,  exemptions  of,  from 
child  labor  laws,  212. 

Infant  mortality,  15 ;  among  labor- 
ing classes,  41 ;  artificial  foods 
in  relation  to,  62 ;  classification 
of  causes  of,  61 ;  first  period  in 
history  of,  18 ;  heat  and  neglect 
as  causes  of,  65 ;  in  France,  20 ; 
in  Huddersfield,  82 ;  in  Massa- 
chusetts, 20,  37;  in  New  York 
City,  64,  67;  in  Rochester,  75; 
in  slums,  42 ;  influence  of  social 
conditions  on,  41 ;  methods  of 
decreasing,  80,  91 ;  municipal 
campaigns  against,  87 ;  of  negro, 
38;  proportion  of,  to  total  mor- 
tality, 46 ;  rates  of,  in  the  United 
States,  44;  reasonable  rates  of, 
43  ;  rural  vs.  urban,  36 ;  second 
and  third  stages  in  history  of,  19  ; 
ultimate  causes  of,  60. 


Infanticide,  6. 

Inspection,  dairy,  77;  factory,  for 
child  labor,  215 ;  medical,  of 
schools,  117. 

Institutions  for  dependents,  advan- 
tages of,  332 ;  cottage  system  in, 
306 ;  disadvantages  of,  330 ;  im- 
portance of,  330 ;  public  vs. 
private,  330 ;  relation  of,  to  child 
saving,  304;  temporary  care  in, 
320. 

Investigation,  spirit  of,  350. 

Iowa,  home  for  dependents  in,  335. 

Italian  girls,  customs  among,  200. 

Jenner,  18. 

John  Worthy  School,  265. 

Judges,  as  probation  officers,  253; 
in  juvenile  court,  236 ;  qualifica- 
tions of  juvenile  court,  241. 

Jury  trial  in  juvenile  court,  239.     ' 

Juvenile  court,  and  probation,  240 ; 
disposition  of  offenders  by,  240; 
establishment  of,  235;  evolu- 
tion of,  243 ;  hearings  in,  237 ; 
jury  trial  in,  239 ;  organization 
of,  236;  qualifications  of  judge 
in,  241 ;  rotation  of  judges  in, 
237. 

Juvenile  delinquency,  caused  by, 
associations  and  environment 
219,  criminal  tendencies,  230, 
cruelty,  229,  dishonesty  of 
parents,  228,  home  conditions, 
225,  neglect,  227,  saloons,  230, 
street  trades,  232  ;  investigation 
of  causes  of,  275 ;  meaning  of, 
225;  prevention  of,  by,  better 
amusements,  281,  better  legal 
control,  276,  boys'  clubs,  277, 
compulsory  education,  286,  con- 
tributory delinquency  laws,  283, 
juvenile  improvement  associa- 
tions, 276 ;  parental  education, 
289,  parks  and  playgrounds, 
280,  prevention  of  truancy, 
286,  socialization  of  public 
school,  285,  vocational  training, 
287. 

Juvenile  delinquents,  classification 
of,  231,  255;  disposition  of,  240; 
number  of,  in  reformatories,  272 ; 


INDEX 


379 


physical    defects    among,     268; 
probation  of,  245. 
Juvenile  offenses,  classification  of, 
231 ;  nature  of,  232. 

Kansas  City,  boys'  clubs  in,  278. 

Labor,  child  ;  see  Child  labor. 
Laundries,  heat  in,  187. 
Legislation,     agencies     supporting 

child  labor,  201 ;    see  also  Child 

labor  legislation. 
Literacy,  of  working  children,  178. 
London,  decline  of  death  rates  in,  16. 

Machinery,  influence  of,  on  child 
labor,  166. 

Mack,  Judge,  243. 

Manual  training,  151. 

Manufacturers,  child  labor  legisla- 
tion opposed  by,  163. 

Manufactures,  importance  of  child 
labor  in,  172  ;  night  shifts  in,  178. 

Massachusetts,  state  care  of  chil- 
dren in,  340. 

Measles,  52. 

Medical  inspection  of  schools,  by 
board  of  education,  120 ;  by 
board  of  health,  121 ;  legal  pro- 
visions for,  126;  nature  of,  119; 
state  laws  governing,  127;  the- 
ory of ,  117. 

Medical  inspector,  122. 

Meningitis,  57. 

Mercantile  establishments,  over- 
time in,  180. 

Michigan  state  school,  description 
of,  336 ;  length  of  stay  in,  337 ; 
placing  out  by,  338;  results  of, 
338. 

Milk,  certified,  77;  experiments 
with,  in  Chicago,  69,  in  Roches- 
ter, 72 ;  methods  of  handling, 
67 ;  pasteurization  of,  71 ;  req- 
uisites of  good,  68 ;  sterilization, 
70;  summary  of  methods  of 
controlling,  78. 

Milk  depots,  in  Rochester,  73 ; 
Straus,  75. 

Milk  problem,  the,  essential  ele- 
ments in,  68. 

Minnesota  state  school,  the,  337. 


Modern  industrial  conditions,  child 

labor  caused  by,  165. 
Mortality ;  see  Infant  mortality. 
Motherhood,  cost  of,  27. 
Moving  picture  show,  282. 

National  Child  Labor  Committee, 
202. 

Neglect,  of  children,  296;  delin- 
quency caused  by,  227. 

Negro  children,  in  agriculture,  175. 

New  Jersey,  boarding  out  in,  339. 

New  York,  child  labor  law  in,  205 ; 
classification  of  juvenile  offenses 
in,  233  ;  probation  in,  258 ;  sub- 
sidy system  in,  342. 

New  York  Children's  Aid  Society, 
work  of,  314. 

New  York  City,  diphtheria  in,  51 ; 
infant  mortality  in,  64;  play- 
grounds in,  103. 

New  York  Society  for  the  Preven- 
tion of  Cruelty  to  Children,  on 
intemperance,  299 ;  work  of,  328. 

Newman,  George,  on  infant  mor- 
tality, 60. 

Newsboys,  delinquency  among,  198. 

Newsholme,  Arthur,  on  infant  mor- 
tality, 60. 

Nickelodeon,  censorship  of,  282. 

Night  work,  efifect  of,  188 ;  of  chil- 
dren, 178 ;  prohibition  of,  206. 

Nurse,  school,  123  ;  visiting,  83. 

Occupations,  lack  of  training  for, 

147 ;  unhealthful,  185. 
Ohio,  county  home  system  in,  342. 
Overcrowding,  prevention  of,  88. 
Overtime,  children  engaged  in,  180 ; 

in  seasonal  trades,  180. 

Parental  education,  to  prevent 
juvenile  delinquency,  289. 

Parental  greed,  child  labor  caused 
by,  159. 

Parental  school,  function  of,  264, 

Parks,  city,  as  playgrounds,  108; 
small,  106. 

Pasteurization,  70. 

Pennsylvania,  child  labor  in,  175, 
205. 

Pennsylvania  Children's  Aid  So- 
ciety, principles  of,  313. 


380 


INDEX 


Placing  out,  difficulties  in,  319; 
essentials  of,  315 ;  importance  of, 
315  ;   steps  in,  316. 

Play,  and  tuberculosis,  96 ;  cooper- 
ation fostered  by,  99 ;  discipline 
of,  97 ;  gang  spirit  in,  100  ; 
moral  effects  of,  97;  physical 
influence  of,  96 ;  social  value  of, 
97 ;   theories  of,  96. 

Playground  Association,  National, 
106. 

Playground  movement,  the,  origin 
of,  105;   progress  of,  111. 

Playgrounds,  administration  of, 
113;  equipment  of,  107;  for 
older  children,  107;  in  Chicago, 
109;  in  New  York,  112;  school, 
116;  supervision  of,  114;  types 
of,  106. 

Poverty  exemptions  from  child 
labor  laws,  207. 

Prematurity,  67. 

Preventable  mortality,  46,  47  note. 

Principles  of  child  saving,  304. 

Probation,  and  playgrounds,  281 ; 
essentials  of  successful,  259 ; 
extent  of  system  of,  245 ;  length 
of,  255;  origin  of,  245;  results 
of,  257 ;  state  supervision  of,  246. 

Probation  districts,  254. 

Probation  ofl&cers,  cooperation  of, 
with  other  agencies,  249 ;  duties 
of,  246 ;  number  of  cases  super- 
vised by,  256;  qualifications  of, 
254;  service  of,  without  pay, 
249 ;      types     of,     investigators, 

247,  judges,  253,  parole  officers, 

248,  volunteers,  251. 

Public  care  of  dependent  children, 
335 ;  methods  of,  boarding  out, 
339,  county  home  system,  342, 
placing  out,  340,  public  subsidy 
to  private  institutions,  342,  state 
school,  335. 

Public  schools,  socialization  of,  109, 
285. 

Public  subsidies  to  private  chari- 
ties, cost  of,  343 ;  evils  of,  343. 

Recreation  piers,  108. 
Reformatory    institutions,    cottage 
system    in,    267;     discipline    in, 


271 ;  essentials  of,  274 ;  evolu- 
tion of  treatment  in,  260 ;  farm- 
ing taught  in,  269 ;  home  life 
in,  262;  household  economy 
taught  in,  270;  indeterminate 
sentence  to,  273  ;  industrial  train- 
ing in,  269 ;  necessity  for,  262 ; 
number  of  juvenile  delinquents 
in,  271 ;  parental  schools  as, 
264 ;  physical  training  in,  268 ; 
present  functions  of,  262 ;  sepa- 
ration of  sexes  in,  266 ;  term  of 
commitment  to,  273 ;  training 
and  industrial  schools  as,  265 ; 
types  of,  263. 

Registration  Area,  16  note;  deaths 
in,  38 ;  diarrheal  diseases  in,  55. 

Rights  of  childhood,  5;  to  educa- 
tion, 10;  to  freedom  from  work, 
9;  to  health,  7;  to  life,  5;  to 
play,  8. 

Rochester,  milk  problem  in,  72 ;  re- 
duction of  infant  mortality  in,  75. 

Rockefeller  Institute,  milk  tests  in, 
63. 

Rountree,  on  poverty  in  York,  298. 

St.  Louis,  industrial  school  in,  265. 

Saloons,  juvenile  delinquency 
caused  by,  230. 

Scarlet  fever,  52. 

School  attendance,  character  of, 
143. 

School  children,  defects  among,  125. 

School  nurse,  123. 

School  officials,  and  child  labor 
laws,  215. 

School  playgrounds,  109. 

Schools,  industrial  training  in,  149 ; 
medical  inspection  of;  see  Medi- 
cal inspection. 

Seasonal  trades,  overtime  in,  180. 

Sex  physiology,  education  in,  154. 

Silk  mills,  child  labor  in,  175. 

Social  reform,  difficulties  in  secur- 
ing, 351. 

Social  training,  required  by  juve- 
nile court  judge,  242. 

Society  for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty 
to  Children,  function  of,  325;  in 
England,  325 ;  influence  of  in- 
temperance   reported    by,    299 ; 


INDEX 


381 


organization  of,  325;  origin  of, 
324 ;  purpose  of,  in  Massachu- 
setts, 326 ;   work  of,  328. 

South,  the,  child  labor  in,  174. 

Special  schools  for  backward  chil- 
dren, 134. 

Starbuck,  224. 

State  care  of  dependent  children, 
evolution  of,  344. 

State  school  system,  335 ;  examples 
of,  335 ;  Michigan,  336 ;  placing 
out  under,  338. 

Sterilization,  70. 

Stores,  exempted  from  child  labor 
laws,  213. 

Straus  milk  depots,  75. 

Street    associations,    aa    cause    of 

>*  juvenile  delinquency,  229. 

Street  trades,  cause  of  juvenile 
delinquency,  232  ;  child  labor  in, 
179;  moral  effects  of,  198;  not 
included  in  child  labor  laws,  213. 

Supervision,  of  child  in  home,  318; 
state,  of  private  child-saving 
agencies,  307. 

Teacher,  the,  relation  of,  to  medical 

inspection,  125. 
Temporary    home,    for    dependent 

children,  320. 
Textile    mills,    physical    effects    of 

working  in,  187. 
Tobacco  factories,  poisonous  fumes 

in,  186. 
Trade  and  transportation,  class  of 

children  employed  in,  172. 
Trade   life,    shortened    by    factory 

system,  183. 
Trade   schools,    attitude   of   labor 


unions    toward,    152 ;     evening, 

152;  private,  153. 
Trade  training,  147. 
Trades,  dangerous,  211 ;  inspection 

of,  to  determine  nature  of,  212. 
Truancy,  caused  by  street  trades, 

198 ;    causes  of,  287 ;    prevention 

of,  286 ;  responsibility  of  parents 

for,  287. 
Tuberculosis,  influence  of  play  on, 

96. 

Uniformity,    of    child    labor    laws 

needed,  203. 
United     States,     classification     of 

juvenile  offenses  in,  234. 
Untrained  children,  145,  194. 
Unwise  philanthropy,   dependency 

caused  by,  298. 

Vocational  schools,  151 ;  juvenile 
delinquency  lessened  by,  287. 

Volunteer  probation  officer,  argu- 
ment for,  252 ;  handicaps  of, 
251;  place  of,  251. 

Walker-Gordon     laboratories,     79 

note. 
Waste  of  chUd  life,  22,  46,  69. 
Whooping  cough,  54. 
Williamson  Free  School,  153. 
Wolf,  on  mortality  in  Erfurt,  42. 
Women,  married,   employment  of, 

in  industry,  89  ;   employment  of, 

a  cause  of  infant  mortality,  90. 
Working  papers,  208;    methods  of 

granting,  208. 

Yonkers,  results  of  probation  in, 
258. 


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